To Help An Angel
by MissH-95
Summary: Marriage Law. Saving Hermione Granger on the hunt for Horcruxes, means a new best friend for Harry and Ron. After the war, a law is passed that will change her life. How will the resident bookworm handle forced marriage? AU, GW/HG, slight OOC, M for lang.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, you who are brave enough to enter the realm of my imagination!

Lol, anyway... I have been reading a lot of Marriage Law fics lately, and I wanted to see where I could go with that idea. This is the result :)  
>This will become a GeorgeHermione fic, and other that the prologue, it will be from Hermione's point of view, unless I deem it necessary otherwise.

**IMPORTANT TO KNOW:** (Sorry, had to get your attention somehow, right?) Anyway, in this story, Hermione is a Ravenclaw a year above Harry and Ron. She was never their best friend, during the school-days, but she somehow manages to get herself invovled in their adventures anyway.

I should probably also mention that some of the things in this story you will recognize, but as I am from Denmark and do not own an English copy of DH, the things taken directly from the book are a translation I have made. I've never even read the English version of it, and I know something get's lost in the translation, but I've done my best. I just don't want to find any flames about plagiarism, as that was never my intention.

This story is AU from the original Harry Potter books, but I try to stick to the plot-line as best as I can. It will be slightly OOC as well, but I find that it is impossible to be completely true to any character you write, if you have not created it yourself.

This story is not beta'd and I apologize for any mistakes that should come up. I'd appreciate some constructive critism, though. :D

The rating is M, for violence and language. I suspect it is more like a T, but I don't know if I will attempt lemons yet. :)

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter, I don't own anything you recognize, all rights go to JK Rowling. (Damn you, Rowling, for being such a brilliant writer)**

**Spoiler Alert! **This has spoilers for all 7 books, though the most obvious are from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Thank you!  
>I hope you enjoy it!<p>

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><p><em>Prologue<em>

Harry James Potter had made a serious mistake. Currently, he was cursing himself under his breath, as he ran away from the Snatchers – or tried to anyway. He and his best friend Ronald Bilius Weasley had been talking when Harry foolishly had said Voldemort's name, and triggered the Taboo.

Ron and Harry had been on the search for Horcruxes for months now. It was no more than a few weeks ago, that Ron had gotten back from what Harry now referred to as 'his little vacation'.  
>They had overheard some Muggleborns, on the run from Snatchers, telling the story of Ginny Weasley and her friends' attempt at breaking into the Headmaster office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry had been terrified, because Ginny was his girlfriend – and if she'd have him, fiancé when he was finished with the blasted Horcrux-hunt. (There's nothing like war to tell you to hurry up with the proposals).<p>

Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom and Lisa Turpin were Harry and Ron's great friends, and they had all been with Ginny that night. Harry had been so relieved to find out they were okay, but Ron couldn't shake it off. He'd been on and off again with Lisa since 5th year, when she had been in the DA. She was a Ravenclaw, and she was in their year.  
>Ron had thrown away the Horcrux he had been wearing, telling Harry he couldn't deal with anymore right now, and he had taken off. Harry had been put out with him, and had only really forgiven him, when he had jumped into a lake to save Harry from drowning, because of that damned Horcrux.<p>

While Ron had been gone Harry had taken to go through all of his books and reviewing all the memories he and Dumbledore had seen about Voldemort. He was frustrated and fed up with his mission, but he kept on going, knowing that he really was the only person who could defeat Voldemort. He was just annoyed that no matter what he seemed to do, he couldn't find a breakthrough.

And now, as he ran, he tried to figure out a way to both get back the tent, and mess up his face, so he wouldn't be so easily recognized. Being The-Boy-Who-Lived really sucked arse; everybody knew who he was, and how he looked. Joy.  
>He hoped that Ron would get away, as they'd been separated when running.<br>Swearing under his breath, he flicked his wand towards his face, and groaned in pain as the swelling started and contorted his face into an ugly, twisted mask. He thought he must look like his Uncle Vernon, and grimaced further. It wasn't a pleasant thought.

He could hear the shouts and spells as they were shot at him from behind, but he just kept running. Years on the Quidditch team under a psychotic Captain had kept Harry fit, and he was really thankful now that Oliver Wood, his Captain, had been so determined to win the Cup, because otherwise Harry would have been a quivering mass of human, trying to catch his breath on the ground right about now.  
>He tried to focus through the pain – something he had learned at a young age – and threw a series of defence spells over his shoulder, before tripping over a root, sending a surge of pain up his leg, as his ankle twisted. Harry thought that it might be broken, but couldn't really do anything other than numbing the pain, flinging about a language that could make a dragon-tamer blush.<br>_  
>'Damn.'<em> He thought, as the Snatchers caught up to him. He was brought back to the place where they had first been found, and he was secretly glad. The Snatchers weren't too smart, but Harry thought it would be wise if he just shut his mouth, and listen.  
>He felt his anger boil to just under the surface as Fenrir Greyback kept cooing over some girl Harry thought he recognized, though he couldn't quite place her. He was just glad that Ron had seemed to get away; he was nowhere in sight.<br>Sighing with relief, he made some minute movements with his wand that only a really trained eyed could see. The air about the tent began to shimmer slightly, as he put the illusion up. When satisfied, Harry cast three quick spells; one to take down the tent and pack it, one to stuff it into his backpack, and a third to disillusion the pack. Summoning the result, he shrunk it, and stuffed it into his oversized pocket – expanded magically of course.

Focusing back on the situation, he could hear the girl he vaguely remembered, stammering that she was Penelope Clearwater, a half-blood. If Harry hadn't met Penelope, he would have believed her. But they didn't really look all that similar; only if you knew neither of them, was it believable. Behind her, a small group of people were situated, all very thin and beaten up. Harry recognized Dean, a boy from his year and house – they were never quite sure if he was a Muggleborn or a Half-blood; Dean's father had left when he was young, and he had no idea if he was a wizard or not.  
>In the group, there was also a goblin and a middle-aged man, who looked to be half-dead. His breathing was shallow, and blood was trickling down from his temple. Harry recognized the man from a '<em>Prophet'<em>article a while ago; he was Dirk Cresswell, the man whom Albert Runcorn – the wizard Harry had been impersonating when infiltrating the Ministry – had sent on the run.

Suddenly, a man from the group of Snatchers, pulled the Sword of Gryffindor out from behind him, and pointed it at Hermi- _oh! _That's_ what her name is, Hermione Granger! I remember her, she was a Ravenclaw from a year above, – _he thought as her name finally registered in his mind.  
>"Where did you get this fine thing, Mudblood?" Harry was angered when he said that to her. He hated that term almost as much as he hated Draco Malfoy. Nobody deserved being called a 'dirty blood'. It was just wrong.<br>He focused again when a boot collided with the side of his face. He groaned as he fell sideways, landing on his arm, and hearing he shoulder pop; he only hoped it wasn't dislocated.  
>His hands were bound, and he could barely see anything from his obscured face. He felt as if he had been stuck halfway through a Poly-juice transformation, and it hurt.<br>"Oi, Ugly, I'm talking to you." Grinding his teeth together, Harry just blurted something out.  
>"It's me dad's, borrowed it fer wood-chopping" Harry put on a fake accent; he just hoped it would throw them off, as everybody knew that Harry-bloody-Potter was as English as they come.<br>"Who is your father anyway, Hideous?" Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes.  
>"'E works a' the Ministry; a' the Department of Regulations of Magical Creatures." He just rambled, having no idea how he was going to back all of it up. He just hoped they would leave it.<br>"Why are you not in school?" Harry was getting tired of the interrogation; the numbing spell he had put on his foot was starting to wear off, and his arm and shoulder was throbbing.  
>"Graduated last year," he ground out, as the man came nearer. He smelled of blood, sweat and alcohol, but Harry knew that even in that state, he would be able to recognize his scar, if he came close enough. Just as he thought of the scar, a white hot pain shit through it, and he groaned.<br>"Which house?" The Snatcher was getting suspicious; his eyes had narrowed and he was looking intensely at Harry's forehead.  
>"Slytherin," he replied automatically. He was in this lie too deep anyway, no way out now.<br>"Funny," Fenrir Greyback said, as he stroked Hermione's chin, then slicing his nail across her cheek, causing her to whimper in pain, "-how they all think that answer appeases us. Where's the common room?" Harry almost smirked; that one was too easy.  
>"In the dungeons; you get in through the wall, and it's under the lake, so it has a greenish glow to it." Just then, the Snatcher closest to Harry reached up, and pressed against the obscured scar. Harry yelled out, and swore heavily. Without Luna or Ginny, or even Lisa, around to chastise them, his and Ron's language had become a helluva lot more colourful.<br>"I think this one might be Harry Potter." Harry almost sighed but kept it in.

"We're taking this lot to the Manor; leave the dead one over there. I'm taking this delicious little thing with me" Greyback took charge, and grabbed Hermione. Her eyes were wide with fear, and Harry swore there and then, that he would protect her at all costs. And once you have Harry Potter's protection, you are under protection alright. Harry would rather die than fail to protect someone, even somebody he didn't know.  
>They were hauled up; Harry could see that Dirk Cresswell was left behind, and it saddened him to think that a good man was just left there. Dean was unconscious, and the goblin was staring fixated at the sword. That wasn't good, as Harry really needed it to destroy the Horcruxes, but he would deal with that later; right there, his ankle was killing him, and he was trying to form a plan.<p>

**-*-*-Malfoy Manor-*-*-**

Harry couldn't believe it. Draco Malfoy, his number one school-nemesis, who clearly _had_ recognized Harry, told his 'beloved father', lied right to his _face_- and said he wasn't sure if it was Harry or not. He was almost stunned into silence in his mind, but was quickly snapped out of it, as Bellatrix came to him, and started rambling about calling the Dark Lord.  
>She then saw the sword, Stunned almost everyone around her, and decided that she needed to know why they were in possession of that particular Sword.<br>The Snatchers had said that there were two people in the tent, and as Hermione was found nearby – running from another group of Snatchers – Bellatrix decided she must've been the one with Harry.  
>It was so hard on Harry, trying to think, while listening to Hermione's screams. Then it clicked.<br>"Kreacher!" he called softly. He hoped his little elf was okay, and that he would come alone. He prayed that Yaxley was too stupid to put a Tracing-charm on Kreacher, as he really needed the elf.

Harry was in the dungeons of the Malfoy Manor, along with Luna, Dean, Mr. Ollivander – the wandmaker – Griphook – the goblin that had taken Harry to his vault for the first time in his life – and now the little creature he had once hated, appropriately called Kreacher.  
>"Merlin it's good to see you Kreacher. Are you okay? I'm so sorry about Yaxley. Did Yaxley put a charm on you of any kind, Kreacher?" Harry was really relieved to see that he was all right.<br>"Master, says he is sorry to leave Kreacher, but Kreacher is fine. Yaxley was thrown out by Kreacher, he was, and Kreacher escaped. Kreacher's here to help Master, he is." Harry almost grinned. Kreacher was truly an awesome elf underneath all the craziness. They were interrupted by Hermione's scream as she pleaded with Bellatrix, trying to tell her she had no idea what she was talking about.  
>"Bring the goblin, Draco!"<br>_Shit!_  
>"That's great Kreacher. Now, Kreacher, I want you to take Mr. Ollivander, Dean and Luna back to the Dean-forest. Take my backpack and put up the tent. It's big enough to host us all, when we get out of here." Kreacher nodded, but just as he was about to answer, they heard someone shuffle down the stairs, and Kreacher disappeared.<br>Harry fell to his knees before the injured goblin and pleaded with him.  
>"Griphook, just lie, and say the sword is a fake, please. Please! It's the only way she'll believe, and then maybe we'll all have a chance at getting out alive. Please, Griphook!" The goblin only stared, as Malfoy came down, and instructed them against the wall. The dungeon became sparsely lit, when Malfoy opened the door.<br>Just as the dungeon door swung shut, Kreacher appeared again, and nodding at his master, took the injured with him to the Dean-forest. Harry hoped Luna or Dean would have enough sense through the shock, to instruct Kreacher to put up protective wards.

The crack resonated through the room, as Kreacher left, and everything went silent upstairs. Harry could faintly hear Hermione whimper, and resolved to save her. She wasn't going to be left here, no way in hell.  
>Harry was lucky though – it was Wormtail who came down to look what was happening. Harry remembered the words of his late Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, about the lifedebt that Wormtail now owed to Harry, and he wondered if it would come to that. He hoped not.<br>As the doors sprung open, and Wormtail came in, Harry silently attacked him, wrapping a hand around his mouth, and kneeing him in the back simultaneously. They struggled for a while, until Wormtail got his hand on Harry's throat. Harry managed to grab Pettigrew's wand before he stuttered out that Wormtail owed his life to him. Harry watched with disgust as the hand Voldemort had conjured for Wormtail wrapped itself around his throat and squeezed until the light went out of his eyes. Harry felt a pang of something, to see one of the Marauders go; Wormtail had been one of his dad's best friends, before the treachery.

He jerked a few of Wormtail's hairs off, and was repulsed as the pre-brewed Poly-juice potion bubbled and seethed as it turned into a sickly looking green. Wrinkling his nose, he drank it all, and waited until he was completely transformed. Creeping upstairs he made sure to shuffle the way Wormtail did, and keep his posture as he had seen Peter do before. He needed to be convincing.

What he saw when he came into the large room Bellatrix was using as an interrogation room, almost made him sick. Greyback was panting as he sniffed the blood oozing from Hermione's wounds. She was crying and Harry could hear her throat was raw, as Bellatrix flung another Cruciatus at her. Harry winced; he knew how much they hurt.  
>"Everything is fine with the prisoners" he squeaked in a very Wormtail-like manor. Bellatrix smiled evilly.<br>"Hear that princess? Itty bitty baby Potter isn't even going to rescue you; he's too busy saving himself." Hermione just whimpered and twitched a little on the floor.  
>Discreetly, Harry surveyed the room. Griphook was gripping the Sword of Gryffindor, and Fenrir was playing with the wands he had taken from the captured.<br>He was going to have to think quickly. Bellatrix was pressing her forearm and moaned as she did so; Harry silently gagged.  
>Harry had so little time now, he did the only thing he could think of; he silently stunned Bellatrix, and in the confused chaos that followed, he quickly disarmed Fenrir and the Malfoy family. It really did pay off to have trained duelling with both Flitwick and Dumbledore during his 6th year; he was unusually quick with the spells, and was efficient with silent casting. He grabbed the goblin and the bleeding Hermione before running the hell away from that chaos, with people flinging curses at each other, trying to figure out who did what.<br>He called for Kreacher as he neared the dungeons, and hoped he would make it. He could hear Lucius Malfoy charging after him, and he could feel the effects of the Poly-juice potion wear off. His ankle was killing him, but he ignored it; he had to get them out of there, now.

He reached the dungeons, and saw Kreacher waiting.  
>"Master, hurry!" they reached the little elf just in time; the door behind them sprung open, as Lucius charged, but Kreacher was already miles and miles away, apparating the group directly into the tent.<br>Putting down an unconscious Hermione and Griphook who was still clutching the sword, he turned to the three already occupying the tent. Luna was looking as dreamy eyed as always, and Dean looked to be okay- but Harry knew how easy it was to pretend these days; he'd just done it himself.

"Where was the first time, Luna Lovegood and I met?" He was pointing his wand at them, though loosely enough for them not to feel threatened; but if needed, he could still fling a dangerous curse quickly.  
>"In a compartment on the Hogwarts Express; I was reading the Quibbler and you were with Neville. You were covered in a substance from Neville's plant when Cho Chang arrived." Harry was blushing slightly at the memory, but was satisfied with the answer.<br>"What football-team does Dean Thomas have hanging in his Gryffindor dorm?" Dean grinned tiredly.  
>"That would be West Ham." Dropping his wand, he stepped forward and pulled Dean into a quick hug, thumping his back gently. He then took Luna into one as well, but held on a little tighter.<br>"I've been worried about you, Luna." He whispered in her ear, and he could feel her smile against his shoulder.  
>Releasing her, he turned to Kreacher.<br>"Kreacher, would you please find Ron? And bring him here?"  
>"Yes Master, Kreacher shall find the redheaded master Weasley." Nodding at the elf, who popped away, he turned to Ollivander. The old man was very weak, and Harry knew he wouldn't be up for questioning about wands right now. He helped the man into a bed, and went to fetch Hermione as well. Luna stepped up to help, having taken courses in healing. She advised it might be best to let Hermione sleep for now, and running diagnostics in the meantime. Dean looked battered, but said he would feel slightly better after a shower. Harry pointed him toward the bathroom, which fortunately also held a bath. Wizard-tents were brilliant.<p>

"She's taken a severe beating Harry, both magically and physically. She's been tortured with the Cruciatus and she's been kicked in the ribs a lot, too. Bellatrix Lestrange carved the word 'Mudblood' into her arm, and she's bleeding from many different places. She needs immediate attention, but it'll still be better to leave her unconscious. Since I'm the only one out of the two of us who can cast these diagnostic spells, maybe you could see to her wounds." Harry nodded at Luna, and grimaced slightly. He felt so bad for Hermione.  
>Luna went to look over Ollivander and help him, and Dean was told to go to sleep right away. Luna looked a little scary when she was so stern.<p>

Harry set to work, pulling out bandages, Essence of Dittany and various potions and medical solutions. He started cleaning the wounds, pouring 5 drops of a wound-cleanser potion into some lukewarm water, and dipping a soft cloth into the mixture. He worked gently and carefully, not wanting to wake her, or hurt her. He had to wake her slightly though, to make her drink a blood-replenishing potion, but she was so out of it, she sell right back asleep. He had to wake her again, to make her drink some Skele-Gro he had taken with him, knowing he had to be prepared. She didn't even open her eyes as she drank, and she was still asleep when he applied the Dittany to her open wounds to stop the bleeding and speed up the healing-process. He had Luna take off her clothes and replace it with one of his clean t-shirts and a pair of jogging pants. When Luna was done, he took over again, bandaging Hermione up, until he was satisfied with his work.

Luna was working on Ollivander, and he had been tortured for months. Though he was still conscious as it was a little time since he had last been tortured, he didn't complain, not even when he had to drink the Skele-Gro – which Harry knew was one of the vilest potions out there. Harry went into the small kitchen, and quickly mixed a meagre meal. Ollivander wolfed it all down though, and soon he too, was asleep.  
>Luna then moved to the sleeping goblin, checking him over, and bandaging him up, when there was no apparent sign of torture or a beating. He had a cut across his cheek from a dagger, but that was easily fixed.<br>Harry insisted to check Luna over, and when he found she was mostly fine, except for a few bruises and cuts here and there, he told her gently to go to sleep. She wouldn't have it though, and told him to sit. He closed his eyes and sighed, knowing he wasn't in the best of shapes. He heard Luna gasp, and just raised an eyebrow, not even looking up.  
>"Harry, your ankle is broken, and the way you have abused it, it's even worse! How you even moved with that is beyond me! Your shoulder isn't far from being dislocated and you have all sorts of cuts and bruises!" Harry barely shook his head at her, half shrugged as if to tell her he was fine. It was nothing really. And she was beginning to sound like Madame Pomfrey.<br>Luna got to work, making him drink some Skele-Gro, and a blood-replenishing potion. She mixed the same wound cleanser as Harry had done. She worked over him methodically, and when she was finally done, Harry told her to go to bed; he would be fine. His ankle wasn't even hurting anymore. She rolled her eyes at him, mumbling something about stupid hero-complexes, but went to bed anyway.

Harry stayed up all night, watching over the sleeping people in the room, occasionally going to get some water for all of them. He hovered the cups next to their beds, and waited. He waited for morning to come, for Ron to come, for the war to be over.  
>At around 5 o'clock in the morning, Kreacher popped in with Ron. Ron looked to barely be able to walk, as if he'd been beaten but gotten away. Harry conjured a soft mattress for him, and Ron didn't even need an invitation, he fell right in, and fell asleep, slightly snoring. Speaking softly to Kreacher, he instructed him to go shop food and clothes for all of them, and told him it had to last several weeks. He told him to charge it from the Black Vault Sirius had left him, and Kreacher nodded and popped away; Harry was relieved to have something proper to eat for the next few weeks. He stood up then, and started to walk around in a large perimeter around the tent, casting all the protective spells he could think of. They had to stay here for a while, as almost all of the occupants in the tent were severely injured. Dean was asleep, as was Ron, but they hadn't been checked over, and would have to be first thing in the morning.<br>Walking back in, Harry sat to watch over his injured. It was beginning to thin out in the darkness – and with it being winter, Harry knew it had to be around 8 o'clock – when Hermione started moaning slightly in pain. She was still asleep, but she was starting to sweat, and Harry thought she might have a fever.  
>Ron woke, and winced as he moved to get some water to cool her down. He didn't even know how they came to be there, but if they were, Harry must have a good reason, and Ron trusted his best mate with his life.<br>"Thanks; go back to sleep Ron, Luna will check you over when she wakes, but right now, you need your sleep. We'll talk later." Ron nodded, and as soon as his head hit the soft pillow, he was out.  
>Harry sat next to Hermione, patting her forehead with the damp cloth, hoping to cool her down. She seemed to be comforted, and fell back into an easy sleep – or as easy a sleep she could at the moment. Harry felt confident that she would be okay, that they would all be okay in the end.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Hello! Thank you so much to all who have read this little adventure of mine, reviewed and put me on their Fav's or Alerts! It warms my heart to know that I have not been entirely wrong by jumping into the Harry Potter universe. ;)

Though school just started back up today, I feel confident that I will have enough time to really get a head start with this, and have somewhat regular updates on this. I can't promise it will be weekly on the clock; I have no idea how homework and assignments are going to add up, but we'll see.  
>Now on from the boring stuff; here's the first official chapter of my first ever GeorgeHermione story (My first Harry Potter fic ever, really x]) I hope you all like it! As I've said before, I'm not from an English-speaking country, so if I get the idioms wrong, I'm sorry ;)

DISCLAIMER: No, I do not believe I have the bank-account to match up if I own the Harry Potter series. Damn.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

Hermione Jean Granger woke up feeling like she'd just been trampled down by a rampage Hippogriff. It really wasn't a pleasant feeling. Groaning, she tried to sit up, to look where she was, and get an idea of what had happened to make her feel that way. She couldn't though, as a gentle hand pressed her down into the bed again. Blinking away the sleep and adjusting her eyes to the sparse light, she groaned again. Her head felt heavy, and she wasn't sure she could lift her arms, as she felt very weak.  
>"Stay still, Hermione, and I'll get you something to eat." His voice was low, as to not startle her. Blearily, she looked around for the source of the voice, and gasped softly as her eyes met the startling green ones, of one Harry Potter. She had not expected to see him there. He smiled at her, and got out of the chair that stood up against the side of the tent, facing the room and the opening into the living quarters of the wizarding tent. Being a Muggle-born, Hermione was still amazed at magic, even if she had been around it for the past 7 years of her life.<p>

She closed her eyes again, and images and memories flooded back into her conscious mind. She gasped softly again, and her eyes began to water, as she remembered the events that had brought her here, to wherever she was, with Harry Potter. She could hear at least 3 others breathing, and wondered if Harry had managed to rescue them all. She was a year ahead of him, but she had of course still heard of all the crazy stuff that he and his best mate, Ron Weasley, had been through. Though the rumours rarely ever told the truth, there must have been some truthfulness in it, as Harry and Ron always had managed to get the points for the House Cup to back up their stories. The most ridiculous rumour she had heard, was that the pair of them had actually flown a car directly into the Whomping Willow, honestly…  
>But even as she tried – and failed – to keep her mind off of the events at Malfoy Manor, she could still hear the deranged Bellatrix Lestrange as she shouted at her about breaking into her vault, and stealing the sword. Why in the world would she break into Bellatrix' vault at Gringotts? Better yet, why in the world would she even <em>break<em> into Gringotts? She had a feeling it had something to do with one Harry James Potter, but she wouldn't know, not yet anyway.

Harry came back and helped her sit up. She groaned as pain shot up her back, but smiled slightly, as she saw the little vial of Pain-relieving potion next to her plate. She hadn't had a decent meal for the past two weeks, and she could feel her hunger increase rapidly, as she saw the food.  
>Her mouth began to water as the smell of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast with jam, and another toast with sausage hit her nose. She looked up at him slowly, and saw he looked slightly embarrassed.<br>"I wasn't sure what you liked, so I made a bit of everything." She nodded and tried to lift the fork, but her arms were still too weak. She sighed. Harry frowned, and cut out everything for her, where after he took out his wand, and levitated the pieces to her mouth. She grinned slightly at his creativeness, as she quickly got the meal down. He helped her drink the potion and a glass of water, and then, he told her to lie back down, and relax. She had a lot of healing to do, and would be on bed-rest at least the next couple of days. She rolled her eyes, but she was grateful to him. He had saved her life, and he was taking care of her. That was something she would never forget.  
>"Thank you" she whispered, but he just half-shrugged, smiled and walked back to the kitchenette.<p>

Hermione closed her eyes, and tried to fall back to sleep, but the memories kept floating back and keeping her from resting. She was sure she would have a nightmare anyway, so she decided against sleeping. She looked around the room, and tried to identify the other persons in the room. On the floor, lying on a mattress, she saw the unmistakable red hair of Harry's best friend, Ronald Weasley. He was snoring softly, but he kept turning, and Hermione knew he most likely had a nightmare.  
>On the bed across form hers, lay an elderly man, and after a few moments of inspection, she realized he was man who had sold her, her wand 7 years ago in Diagon Alley – Mr. Ollivander.<br>She could see the goblin she had been tied to, when she was captured lying on the bed, about 3 feet over Mr. Ollivander's. He looked to be fine, though he was perfectly still, only the rise and fall of his chest an indicator that he was alive. She could see an arm sprawled over the side of the bed over hers; it was dark skinned and belonged to a person who was clearly male. The hand was too large, and the arm to muscled for it to be a female. She guessed it must have been the other boy that had been captured before the Snatchers got to Harry – if she wasn't much mistaken it was a boy from Harry's house and year, Dean Something-or-the-other. Beside the chair Harry had sat in, was another bed, but the person who lay in it had her back turned to Hermione, and she wasn't sure who she was. All Hermione was sure of, was that it was a female, and that she had long, curly blond hair, almost like Luna from her house, though 2 years below her. Now that Hermione thought about it, it was very likely that it was Luna; Luna was good at healing spells, and Harry couldn't possibly have seen to them all last night.

About half an hour later, the people around her began to stir, as the sun rose higher on the winter sky. It wasn't by any means becoming uncomfortable in the tent as muggle-tents usually became when the sun rose – but that might be because of the fact that wizarding tents mostly came with temperature-regulated bedrooms.

Hermione almost gave a self-satisfied smirk to herself, as the late teenaged girl turned around, and it was indeed Luna Lovegood from her house. It was good to see a familiar face among somewhat strangers, a face that belonged to a person she knew and liked. Luna was special, sure, but she had a kind heart, and was very insightful when she wanted to be. If you got past her strangeness, she was truly a wonderful friend, and Hermione always thought that all the pranks people, even from her own house, pulled on her were unfair.  
>"Hello Hermione, how are you? I'm just going to run a diagnostic spell on you," Luna said as she drew closer. Hermione smiled and said hello back, before she closed her eyes to let Luna do her thing.<br>"Luna aren't you still 16?" when her question was affirmed she asked the next one; "Then how can you cast these, without being traced?" She wondered briefly if the fallen Ministry had dropped the Trace, but then shook her head; very unlikely when Voldemort had taken over.  
>"This isn't my wand; my wand was taken upon my capture, this is a wand that I borrowed from Harry. He got about 6 wands with him when he escaped Malfoy Manor; I think yours were among them." Hermione smiled with relief; she didn't know what she'd do without her wand.<br>"Thanks Luna." Luna nodded, and told her she was healing well; no more broken bones, the Skele-Gro had done its job, and Harry had been very thorough when he cleaned her other wounds.  
>Luna went on with her diagnostics when everybody else woke up, and trying her strength, Hermione realized could probably walk with a little help.<br>She asked for her wand, and then conjured a pair of crutches. She hobbled to the bathroom and when she came out again, she had been in the shower and was feeling better already. She was still weak and she quickly tired out, but she managed to make it to the dinner-table.

The others joined her at the table after either being healed up by Luna, or taking showers, cleaning up. Everybody but Mr. Ollivander sat at the table at last, even Harry. Though she wasn't sure who was in the kitchen then…  
>"So I guess I should make introductions all around," Harry started. Hermione's throat was still sore like she had never had a sore throat before, and she was grateful not to have to speak up.<br>"This is Hermione Granger, she was a Ravenclaw, graduated last year if I'm not much mistaken – she was Head Girl." Hermione nodded, and recognition lit in Ron and the boy she was sure was named Dean's eyes.  
>"This is the goblin that showed me to my vault for the first time – Griphook" Harry introduced, and handshakes were offered all around, startling the Goblin. Not many wizards bothered with polite gestures toward goblins, it seemed.<br>"Dean Thomas, from my year and house, Luna Lovegood, from one year below and Ravenclaw, and to my right, Ron Weasley my best mate through the last, what is it? 7 years?" Ron grinned and playfully hit his shoulder. Just then an ugly little creature came toward the dining table, with large amounts of food hovering around him, and 8 plates balanced on his arms.  
>"Oh, and this is Kreacher, my house elf. He's the one you have to thank for getting us out of there; he was brilliant!" A weird blush spread across the elf's cheeks, but Hermione could see the happiness in the little individual's eyes. Hermione normally didn't approve of the elves enslavement, but she could see that the elf was happy with Harry, and that he was treating him good, so she wouldn't complain.<br>"Thank you Kreacher!" She told him sincerely, and elf bowed to her.  
>It was insane how quickly the food disappeared from the plates. Kreacher sat at the table with him, his eyes wide as he was allowed to eat with his Master and his guest – but Harry had ordered him to.<p>

In the following two weeks, Harry reinforced the protection around them every day, and when he came up with a new idea to help protect them, he would add that as well. Ron would help him out, and they would troop around the tent with a twenty meter radius from it. Hermione had been surprised when she saw how well they both did; she had been given the impression that they were somewhat lazy when it came to schoolwork; they were never in library – though she may just never have seen them in there; it was a pretty big library – and they seemed more interested in Quidditch than anything else. But she wasn't in the same House as them, so she figured she had just misjudged them. And, Harry _had_ had the highest score on his DADA O.W.L's in a century, so there had to be something there.

Hermione was the first to recover, and she would help with the other 'patients' as Luna had taken to calling them when she was tending them. It was discovered that Dean had worse injuries than first imagined, and Luna had ordered him to 'suck it up like a man when I have to tend to you' when he whined that he was fine, and that it was just a little bruise. But the little bruise had turned out to be internal bleeding, and Luna told him in no uncertain terms that she would make him suffer painfully – after he was healed of course – if he didn't follow her orders.

Harry and Ron would sit up late every night, sticking their heads together over some piece of parchment, and whisper up something that sounded like plans, if Hermione's eavesdropping ears heard correctly.

When Ollivander had been strong enough, Harry had asked him to identify the wands he had taken. It turned out, that he had been lucky enough to get his own wand out, along with Hermione's, Dean's, Draco Malfoy's, Bellatrix' and some bloke named Zorn Pridze's, not counting Wormtail's.  
>"You said that Malfoy's wand now answers to me; as do every other wand I took with force; how do I give them back?" Harry had quickly understood that the wands wouldn't work as well with this original owners, if they answered to him, but there had to be a way to give them back.<br>"You will have to reject them. Then, they will be without owner, and the first person who grabs hold of it – if compatible – will be its new owner." Harry grinned.  
>"Brilliant! Okay, this is 'Mione's wand." Hermione looked at him weirdly; he had taken to calling her that lately, as if they were the best of friends. It warmed her heart that he thought that way of her, and she was beginning to view him – and Ron for that matter; they had both been so sweet to her, helping her with whatever she needed – as her best friends.<br>"I, Harry James Potter, hereby reject this wand; I do not wish it to answer to me, nor do I want it. So mote it be." A flash appeared at the end of the wand, and Harry dropped it as if it had burned him. He shook out his hand, and Hermione thought that maybe it had.  
>"Ouch" he muttered, but Hermione hardly heard him, as she picked up her beloved wand, and felt the same warmth spread through her fingers as it had the first day she had held it. She was reunited with her wand, and it felt really good.<p>

He repeated the process with all the wands, but Malfoy's as he had a feeling he would need it at some point – and it never hurt to train combat with two wands. He was delighted to see however, that Luna seemed to work good enough with Wormtail's wand. Her own had been snapped upon her capture, and even if Wormtail's wand hadn't chosen her as its master, it still worked well with her. Dean was happy to have his ownership of the wand back, as he had been using it, but unable to work it fully, because the ownership was given to Harry when he had taken the wands from Greyback.

"Everybody, it's time that we move on; Ron says that his oldest brother, Bill, and his wife, Fleur, would be more than willing to help us. Kreacher, if you will take Ron, Mr. Ollivander and Luna to them, and then come back here, it would be great." Kreacher nodded and Ron gave him the address, and they were gone. Hermione looked mildly confused, but when Kreacher came back and took her, Dean and Griphook with him, she didn't protest. Harry arrived not long after they did, and Kreacher popped away saying he would be there in a flash when Harry called again.

Mr. Ollivander was still weak, and Bill and Fleur were quick to usher them in, and take care of them all. Hermione overheard Ron ask Bill if he would be okay with Luna, Dean, Hermione and Ollivander to stay with them until it was safe for them to go out again, because he and Harry had to go on with this mission they were on, and no, he couldn't tell Bill what it was. Bill reluctantly agreed, not liking his youngest brother being out there, doing something dangerous. Hermione was confused, but determined to help Harry and Ron with whatever they were doing.

That night, after a surprising visit where their old Defence Professor – Remus Lupin – came and announced he had just become a father and that Harry was the Godfather if he wanted to, _and_ that Professor Lupin was sure that his son had inherited his mother's metamorphmagus ability before getting out of there again, Hermione sneaked into the living room where Harry and Ron slept on the pull-out couch. They were surprised to see her there, as they were going through the last stages of their plan to break into Gringotts – they had already spoken with Griphook, and they had come to an understanding – but they couldn't get around the fact that Hermione was smart, and that she would undoubtedly already have guessed what they were up to.  
>"You two, are breaking into Gringotts, and I want to know why you are being so ridiculously stupid to do such a thing." It wasn't a request; it was a statement with an undertone of 'demands an answer'.<br>Harry and Ron looked at each other and sighed. They would need her on this mission, and if they were honest, she would be good to have with them.  
>"Okay. But you must understand that if you are to have this information, you can't want out. And when you know, it would be safer with us anyway; you would have little to no chance of being tortured for information. Are you in or out?" Hermione was startled that it was so secret. She knew it would be dangerous, but she couldn't let them down after what they did for her. She knew she couldn't bail on them once she was in on the secret, but she wanted in. So she whispered out an 'I'm in' and sat down to listen. Ron was quick to cast a <em>Muffliato<em> around them, and Hermione was curious, because she had never heard of it. It emitted a strange buzzing sound around them, and Hermione resolved to look into it later. This looked to be more than just a dangerous adventure; she would learn new magic too! She was sure they could all be good for each other.  
>And so Harry began. He spoke calmly, but Hermione could see and hear the undertone of hatred Harry had when he spoke of Lord Voldemort.<br>He started by explaining that normally he would call Tom Riddle by his proper name and _not _'You-Know-Who' but since there was a Taboo on the name, he would refrain from doing so, and instead call him Tom or Tommy or something similar.  
>Ron would fill in where Harry had left something out, and between the two of them Hermione was up to speed on their Horcrux hunt and all the adventures they had been on since they started. Hermione was startled to hear about Ron leaving, but understood that he had been out of it, when he heard of his girlfriend's trip to the Headmasters office.<br>She learned of the prophecy and Voldemort's desperate measures for immortality. She was surprised at how well they had done at not getting caught, considering they had to break into the Ministry, and all.  
>"But what has all this got to do with breaking into Bellatrix Lestrange's vault at Gringotts? You- you don't think <em>she<em>has one, do you?" When they both nodded she gasped.

"What do you think Riddle has made Horcrux' out of?" Harry and Ron exchanged a look, where after they launched into a tale of the Peverells', Xenophilius Lovegood, the Deathly Hallows, and the Chamber of Secrets. Hermione had no idea what it all had to do with each other, until the end, when Harry explained that just like Riddle had made his diary into a Horcrux when he was 16, he had made what they thought was the Resurrection Stone into one as well. They told her, that after speaking with Ollivander, they knew that Riddle had no idea of the Hallows, but he was after the Elder wand, because Harry's and his wands shared a core.  
>Hermione felt dizzy with all this new information, and slightly peeved that they really <em>had <em>found the Chamber of Secrets and fought the monster; a _basilisk_ no less. How they hadn't ended up in Ravenclaw with their intellect, she would never know. On the other hand, they were Gryffindors to boot; who else would have been brave (or stupid) enough to go into the chamber to save an innocent girl from the monster?  
>"So what's the plan?" She asked, after minutes of trying to sort through all the information. With almost identical grins, they told her of the plan.<p>

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><p>Thanks for reading! If you feel like reviewing, you know what to do ;)<p>

Love,

MissH-95


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everybody :) Santa's arrived with another chapter... (You're late Santa! Getting sloppy in the old age?) Anyway, I wanted to thank all who has read this little story of mine. I'm really glad you seem to enjoy it :D  
><strong>

**DISCLAIMER: No, I still do not own Harry Potter.. I just like playing around with JKR's characters. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

Ronald Bilius Weasley and his best friend, Harry James Potter, were currently being ranted at, by an extremely shocked, extremely angry and extremely soaked through Hermione Jean Granger, because of their little stunt with the dragon. All had been well in Gringotts, until they had been discovered by the goblins, because they accidently set a chain-reaction going in the Lestranges' vault, because they touched an artefact, which duplicated a million time, setting off other artefacts, and burnt through their clothes, leaving nasty boils on their skin. It hurt like you wouldn't believe as well. Hermione, not used to the crazy adventures Harry Potter and Ron Weasley got up to, had never experienced anything like it in her entire life. She knew she was in for the ride of her life, when she agreed to get into the Harry-and-Ron's-adventure-wagon, but she had no idea that they would be crazy enough to break out of Gringotts after being discovered, on a dragon no less. It was the first time in history that somebody had broken into Gringotts, successfully removed what they wanted and gotten out again. Harry and Ron just grinned at her, when she ranted and when she calmed down, she began to laugh because it was just too crazy to not laugh at. And just like that, Harry, Ron and Hermione were best friends.

When they had put up the tent, set up the protective wards, and gotten healed up, Ron and Harry entertained Hermione with stories from their time at Hogwarts. She was surprised when they told her, that in third year, Ron had signed up for all the classes. Harry hadn't taken Muggle-Studies because he found it unnecessary. When they got off the train that year, they had both been ushered into McGonagall's office; Harry because Lupin had told Madam Pomfrey that he had passed out due to a Dementor, and Ron, because he had to have a Time-Turner to keep up with the schedule. Nobody knew that Harry and Ron were really OBS on their education, because they liked to goof off, and pretend to be lazy. Ron was embarrassed to say that in the beginning, it was because he wanted to outshine his older brothers, because they all were something special. He told Hermione with glowing cheeks that he had outgrown that after first year, when he and Harry had saved the Philosopher's Stone.

Hermione was surprised to discover that Sirius Black had been innocent of all the chargers pressed against him, and enraged to find out that he had never been given a trial. She was saddened when Harry told her that Sirius had died two years previously, saving him from Death Eaters when they had lured Harry and his friends to the Ministry.  
>In turn for their stories, Hermione told them all about her years, which hadn't been remotely as interesting as theirs, but still worth mentioning.<br>Hermione learned about their families and even if she had known about the Weasley Twins and their shop, she had no idea that Harry had been the one to first sponsor it, or that he was co-owner of it. She hadn't known the fact that it had been them who had introduced Harry and Ron to the flying car (which she was shocked to discover really _had _been flown into the Whomping Willow).

Hermione was brought out of her musing by Harry, when he fell down to the floor, pressing his hands against his scar, and moaning out in pain. Hermione was startled, and fell to her knees beside him, trying to help. Ron put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head, telling her there was nothing she could do about it. She demanded to know what was happening, her worry shining out of her eyes. Ron sighed.  
>"In fourth year, when Harry and Cedric Diggory were transported to the graveyard, Riddle used Harry's blood to resurrect himself. Ever since then, Harry has been having these vision-like dreams and moments when he spaces out and enters Riddle's mind. After the Ministry Fiasco, where Sirius died, You-Know-Who has been using this difficult branch of magic – Occlumency – against Harry, because he realized the connection was dangerous. Harry tried to learn it in fifth year but was unable to completely get it, so when Riddle found out about their connection, he used it against him. That's what led to the Ministry Fiasco. Anyway, now, whenever Riddle feels a powerful emotion, usually when he's extremely angry or gleeful, Harry gets these visions again, almost like he's drawn to Riddle's mind. Harry can't block him out long enough to focus his mind and put up his shields. It's very painful for him. He'll be fine in a moment, there's nothing we can do. And Harry's determined to use the connection, because it gives him knowledge, and knowledge is power in this case." Hermione nodded, tears streaming down her face as she watched her best friend suffer. She and Ron moved him to the couch, and Hermione fixed a quick plate of some fruit and a glass of water. When Harry came out from the 'vision' he looked pale and sweaty. He was shivering and when Hermione handed him the glass of water, he quickly gulped it down.<br>"Thanks, 'Mione" He whispered before sinking back into the throw-pillows on the couch.  
>"He knows" was the only thing that managed to escape his lips before he fell asleep.<p>

Hermione had been admiring the Pensieve that Harry had gotten from Dumbledore before his death, when Ron had showed her all the memories of Riddle, which their late Headmaster had shown Harry. Harry was still asleep as Hermione went through them, but when she was finished reviewing them, the three friends sat down and discussed the Horcruxes. They knew they had to act fast, because Harry had figured out where the last Horcrux was; Hogwarts. They knew they couldn't get to Nagini – Voldemort's pet snake – until the end, and Harry cursed himself that he had been unable to kill the damn thing when he went to Godric's Hollow. Now that Voldemort knew about their hunt for Horcruxes he would no doubt triple the protection around his snake.  
>"We have got to get to Hogwarts, now." Nodding, they packed up and apparated to Hogsmeade under the Invisibility Cloak.<br>When they got there, they triggered some sort of alarm, but were relieved when they were ushered into the Hog's Head, where they learned of Albus Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth, and they saw Dobby again! Well, Hermione met Dobby for the first time, and was immediately enamoured with the little elf. He was so cute! Dobby then disappeared, but came back through some sort of passageway behind a portrait that wasn't quite like any wizarding portrait Hermione had ever seen. The motive – a beautiful girl – had moved backwards in it, not sideways like every other portrait does. When she appeared again, it was with Dobby, and Neville Longbottom.  
>"Neville!" Ron and Harry exclaimed, quickly helping the bloke out from the passageway behind the portrait. They hugged those weird guy-hugs, thumping each other's backs, happy to be reunited.<br>"Nev, this is Hermione Granger, she was Head Girl last year, a Ravenclaw." Ron introduced, but instead of taking her offered hand, Neville swept her into a hug, saying it was nice to meet her. She laughed for the first time in what seemed like ages, but was really only a few hours.  
>Neville told Aberforth he should be expecting people through at any minute, but not to fret, he should just let them through the portrait.<p>

"I'm so happy you made it! People were beginning to lose hope, even if I said that you would be here, and that we would soon start fighting." Harry was happy to hear the familiar voice of Neville. He had missed the bloke, and was really glad that he was okay, and holding the Fort. He was proud that Neville and Ginny – and before she was taken, Luna – had taken up the DA in his absence; he was sure it was a good morale booster for the Gryffindors and anybody else who fought against Voldemort.  
>"Neville, I'm so glad that everybody seems to be okay. Now tell me what's been going on?" Neville started telling them all about the new classes and professors, how they handled everything and how it was so hard on the new first years. Hermione was glad that Neville had taken it upon himself to protect them.<p>

They arrived in a room Hermione had never been in before. It was large and different house banners were draped across the walls. Hermione looked around curiously, as Neville announced their presence, and applause broke out. Hermione could see Harry blush, and she grinned slightly at him. She vaguely heard Ron introduce her to those who just knew her face, but she was touched when he heard her say she was their new best friend.  
>"Okay everybody. Squad up," she heard Harry say, and everybody in the room began to rotate around until they were standing in small groups, except a few, who hadn't been in the DA.<br>"We have reason to believe that one evil Dark Lord, will be attacking the castle soon," as he was speaking, the passageway they had come through opened again, and people streamed out. Dean, Luna, Bill and Fleur were among the few she recognized. There was Lupin, too, and the Weasley Twins. Hermione didn't seem to register the fact that she eyed them with interest, and noted that they were quite the lookers. A whole bunch of other red-heads was there too, and some who were obviously member of that Order Ron and Harry had told her about. The twins went and stood in what seemed to be their squad, along with a boy with dreadlocks; Lee Jordan, the Gryffindor that always commented the Quidditch-matches.  
>"As I was saying, Voldemort and his Death Eaters are possibly on his way. I, along with Ron and Hermione, have a mission to complete. Everybody, I need to know what item could have belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. I mean, like Gryffindor had his Sword, and Hufflepuff had her Cup." Harry finished. Hermione could see he wasn't done giving out orders, but right now, she hit her forehead with her hand.<br>"Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem!" She and Luna said at the same time. Hermione could have continued hitting herself; she was supposed to be a Ravenclaw dammit!  
>"But it's been lost for about a century!" Cho Chang from Hermione's year said. She and Hermione had never gotten along very well, but they could tolerate one another. Hermione knew that she had been dating Harry at some point, but she had gotten jealous of Ginny Weasley when she had been helping Harry out with something during that time, so she broke it off with him.<br>"Doesn't matter, what does it look like?" Ron was eager, and wouldn't let the fact that it had been lost for around a hundred years stop him.  
>"Well, I could show it to you, there's a bust of Rowena Ravenclaw in our common room." Hermione said. Harry nodded.<br>"Right, but I'll take Luna with me, she knows where it is too," Hermione was slightly startled, but when she saw how he glanced at Ginny, who was glaring at her, Hermione nodded. This must be the girl Harry had spoken about.  
>"Alright, folks, this is how it's going to go; when the teachers have been notified, Healers go help Pomfrey, Shields, help set up protection. Everybody else, prepare to fight!" There was loud applause, and Harry slipped out of the room with Luna, after a quick kiss with Ginny.<br>Ron grabbed hold of her arm, and exclaimed loudly; "The Chamber!" Hermione had to think for a little bit before her eyes lit with remembrance and they set off to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

Hermione had never seen anything so gross in her entire life. When Ron had managed to hiss something out that made the sink drop down, she was not hesitant to hop down after Ron. But when they got into the real chamber, she really wanted to gag. The stench was horrible, after the five years of decomposition of a basilisk. Ron pulled some fangs from the horrid creature, and Hermione could hardly believe that a twelve year old Harry Potter had been able to kill that thing. Ron offered the killing of a Horcrux to her, and she gladly accepted, finding some grim pleasure in killing a part of Voldemort's soul.

They hurried out of there, and quickly realized that the battle was in full swing already. They hurriedly stood back to back and made their way through the duelling wizards and witches blocking and casting spells at Death Eaters they passed. When a Killing Curse came flying their way, Hermione pulled Ron with her out of its way, and she was shocked when it instead hit a Death Eater, who fell to the ground. She was oddly transfixed at the sight, as his body twisted slightly, before it hit the stone-floor.  
>Her gaze was fixed on the dead man, whose mask had fallen off, to reveal a man she would never have believed to be a Death Eater in the first place. He looked pleasant, and it scared her, more than she cared to admit.<p>

When they were out of sight, Ron and Hermione quickly hurried to the Room of Requirement, as Ron had told her it was named, where they had an unspoken promise of meeting up again. They met Harry on the way, and he told them about the room he had hit his potions book in the year before, and how he had seen a diadem in there at the same time.  
>Harry paced back and forth three times, and Hermione was about to ask what he was doing when a door appeared before them, and they hurried in. Splitting up, they travelled up and down, until Harry yelled he had found it.<br>Hermione's heart was pounding so bad she thought it might beat out of her chest, when she heart movement, and a spell no one at their age should know. She screamed and ran, narrowly missing a red beam, a red beam she knew all too well as a Cruciatus.  
>"Potter, come out and face me! You have something that belongs to me, and I want it back!" She heard Draco Malfoy yell out.<br>"Screw your wand, Malfoy, let's kill them!" Hermione's eyes widened; she was alone in the row, and she could see the three Slytherins coming nearer. The one who had spoken was one of Malfoy's bodyguards, Crabbe she thought it might be. He pointed her wand at her, and yelled out the spell she would never have guessed he was able of casting until that very moment.  
>"Avada Kedavra!" She screamed again, and jumped out of the way, grabbing the nearest item, and holding it in front of her as a shield. She knew the only thing that could stop that curse was a physical object. No shield was able to. She could hear Ron roaring for her somewhere, and suddenly spells were being cast back and forth, as Hermione tried to get onto her shaky legs.<br>Harry and Ron where casting spells at an alarming speed, but Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were casting back with favour; they used all the dark spells they knew, spells neither Harry nor Ron wished to cast. Hermione got up and helped them, when suddenly the boy who had cast the Killing Curse threw out Fiendfyre, and they had to run for their lives. Fiendfyre! Who teaches a kid about Fiendfyre! Hermione had never been so scared in her entire life, not even when she was flying on that dragon out of Gringotts. Tears were silently making their way down her face as she tried to apparate out of the all-consuming fire's way, but it wasn't possible. She screamed, and clambered up the enormous piles of things dozens of generations of students had thrown in there. She was praying to all the Gods, Ancient Wizards and Witches she knew of, that she and her friends would get out of there, that they would be okay.

She wasn't even aware of herself shooting spell after spell at the fire, hoping to put it out. She couldn't remember ever having read about a counterspell for Fiendfyre, but that didn't stop her from trying. She was in hysteria, scrambling along the top of the pile she was on, trying to get away, when she felt strong hands pulling her up onto a broom. Her eyes finally focused when she felt her hands grip the handle, and she soared into the air, coughing at the smoke, trying to find her way out. She had never been good on a broom, but when your life is in danger, you can do things you never imagined. She heard Ron yell at Harry: "IF WE DIE FOR THEM, I'LL KILL YOU, HARRY!"  
>Hermione would never quite be sure how they did it, but suddenly, they were out of the deadly fire, with Malfoy and Goyle in tow. Malfoy kept mumbling something about Crabbe, but Hermione snapped; "It was his own fault, just be grateful we saved you before <em>your friend's<em> actions killed you, killed us all!" She didn't feel it was quite enough. Before she knew what she was doing, her hand had pulled back, and she had punched him on the nose, on the good, old-fashioned, Muggle-way. And it felt good.  
>"'Mione, have I ever told you, how absolutely brilliant you are?" Ron grinned as they ran away. She grinned back, and asked where the Horcrux was.<br>"The fire destroyed it. I heard I screech when the doors closed. I wonder if we'll ever be able to use the room again." Harry said. Hermione was about to answer, when they ran into Fred, George, and one of the other red-heads, and judging from the way they were shaking hands, Hermione determined him to be Percy, and they had just reunited.

Then she screamed. Everything seemed to be in slow-motion. A spell hit the wall, and it started cracking. She could see that it was about to crumble down, and it would be taking the three Weasley-brothers with it. She couldn't let it happen, she knew how much they all meant to Ron, and if they died – if they died he would be devastated. Especially if it was the Twins, even if they had always made fun of him, Ron was closest with the Twins, Hermione knew this.  
>The wall was crumbling closer, rubble starting to fall down.<p>

Outside Hermione's haze, about 3 seconds had passed. They were all looking at her funny, when she started screaming, but then they realized what was happening, and they had no time to react.  
>Hermione did the only thing that came to her mind. She stopped screaming, and yelled out the first and best spell that came to mind, pointing her wand at the three brothers.<p>

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><p><strong>Hehe, I believe I am pure evil. Pure. Evil. CLIFFY! Don't you just love them?<strong>

**Did you like it? Share your thoughts, oh magnificent readers! **

**Love,**

**MissH-95**


	4. Chapter 4

**I know, I know. Y'all hate me. I'm sorry. Or not! ;)**

**DISCLAIMER: Nope, still not me. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

_Outside Hermione's haze, about 3 seconds had passed. They were all looking at her funny, when she started screaming, but then they realized what was happening, and they had no time to react. Hermione did the only thing that came to her mind. She stopped screaming, and yelled out the first and best spell that came to mind, pointing her wand at the three brothers._

Ron was yelling, screaming 'NO' over and over again, and running all he could towards his brothers, as the wall fell down. He was frantic as he stumbled over the rubble on the floor; he couldn't see anything through the dust. He coughed but kept running forward- he couldn't lose his brothers, not now, not ever!  
>The dust cleared, and Ron was prepared to scream out his pain and horror, when he saw something that had him stop dead. Tears were streaming down his face; whether from pain, shock, relief or surprise, he wasn't really sure. But there, encased in a light blue bubble, stood his three brothers, shock evident in their wide eyes.<br>Hermione was still staring at where the wall had just fallen down. She had stopped screaming, but she was still pointing her wand at the three Weasleys.  
>"Protego Maxima, Protego Maxima, Protego Maxima" she muttered, over and over again, adding protection to the bubble. She couldn't stop, she just knew she had to save the Weasleys, save the Weasleys…<br>"Hermione." A gentle voice whispered in her ear, as she was enveloped in a hug. Her shaking hand was still pointing her wand in the direction of the wall.  
>"'Mione, they're okay. You saved them, they're okay. 'Mione, you did brilliant, thank you." He kept muttering in her ear as he wrapped his arms gently around her, telling her they were okay, and that she could drop the shield now.<br>"Okay?" she said in a small voice, and suddenly she was crying. She slumped into Harry, holding on for dear life, rambling about not letting Ron lose his brothers, the Twins, especially the Twins, and Harry had no idea what to make of her mutterings. He sat down against the wall, and held his sobbing best friend in his arms.  
>Ron had been trying to get through the protective bubble that had prevented him from getting to his brothers, and when it suddenly fell, he wasn't ashamed to say that he ran to his older brothers, not ashamed to say he had been crying, and definitely not ashamed to say that he had hugged them so tight, they could hardly breathe. They had hugged him back, but they had all been staring at the bushy-haired, soot-covered, sobbing girl currently being hugged by their adopted little brother.<br>When Ron was finally convinced his brothers were still alive, he ran to his female best friend, taking her from Harry, and thanking her over and over again for saving his brothers, while he rocked her back and forth. The three brothers in question came over and hugged her as well, thanking her.  
>"I have no idea how I can ever thank you enough." George whispered as he held her. He wasn't afraid for himself, but he had almost lost two of his brothers, one who happened to be his twin. It terrified him.<br>He kissed her temple, and rocked her quietly back and forth, hoping to calm her down.

Hermione didn't know who it was, or how he did it, but the last of the brothers who hugged her, and had kissed her temple had calmed her down. He smelled pleasant, of newly cut grass, parchment, and something she couldn't quite place.  
>"Thank you," She whispered back at him, when he released her. She stood, embarrassed that she had lost it like that, but none of them seemed to look at her like it was something she should beuncomfortable about.<p>

Suddenly, it was as if all the sound going on in the castle interrupted them, and they hurried into the battle again. But then they heard Voldemort speak. Hermione glanced worried at Harry, but he only grimaced, looking pained.  
>"We have to kill the snake." He whispered, before he closed his eyes. Hermione looked at Ron uncertainly, but he only shook his head slightly, indicating to wait. A few minutes later, Harry resurfaced from his mind.<br>"The Shrieking Shack. He's in the Shrieking Shack." He told them, and they were off. They had on the Invisibility Cloak, but didn't bother hiding their feet. With all that was going on, they were hardly going to be discovered. Harry ached to be out there, fighting, but he had to satisfy himself with sending out spells at unsuspecting Death Eaters that were duelling his friends.  
>Hermione wasn't quite sure what happened. One minute, Harry was there, biting his hands as if to not say anything, and the next, he had crawled out to a dying Snape. Snape made Harry take something, before he fell into eternal sleep. Hermione cried silently as the infamous Potions Master died before them. She could see that Harry was shocked, but they were all shaken out of it, when Voldemort's voice rang out.<p>

They were in the Great Hall. Harry sat silently beside a weeping Mrs Weasley, as she stared at Tonks and Remus. He was in shock. They weren't supposed to die. All around him, friends and strangers alike, lied dead or severely wounded. Nobody cared for the Death Eaters, but the sorrow could be heard all around. Hermione and Ron sat beside an injured Charlie Weasley, though he was as cheerful as ever, hurrying one of Harry's healers from the DA, to heal him up so he could go out fighting again.  
>"Come on, it's not bad, it's just a little wound – I've had worse, trust me! Let me up, please!" His loud words cheered all the other injured up. Mrs Weasley had already been sent on her way by her son; he didn't want her to fuss when he was fine.<br>Without any of them noticing, Harry slipped away.

Hermione only discovered it later, when he looked around after him, asking what they were going to do with the snake. She had no idea what Snape had given him, but she knew Harry was most likely somewhere figuring it out.  
>She didn't have much time, however, to think of it. She had no idea how long Harry had been gone, but suddenly, they heard cheers. It was the kind of cheers that send shivers down Hermione's spine, the kind of cheers that could only mean one thing. Harry had gone to Voldemort.<br>"NO! Harry, where are you? HARRY!" No one seemed to understand what she was on about. They hadn't figured it out yet. But then Voldemort's voice rang out.  
>"Harry Potter is dead-" but Hermione couldn't hear anymore, she was blocking out his voice. She couldn't believe it. Harry couldn't be dead. Suddenly, every person who was able to left the Great Hall. Hundreds of people hurried out of the castle, out onto the grounds, where they could see the horde of Death Eaters, led by the half-giant that was Hagrid. They were all laughing, except for the big man, who was looking like he couldn't cry anymore.<br>Hermione's mind was blank. She had come to care for Harry and Ron so much the last month or so. They were truly the best friends she had ever had. But now, she only had one. Harry was dead, and she hadn't even had the chance to say she loved him like she would love a brother. She hurriedly walked to Ron; she knew it would be so much harder on him; he had slept in the same room as Harry for 6 years, they had shared everything, they had been through things some couldn't even imagine. They had been brothers since they met – it was clear.  
>"Ron," she whispered. She brought him into a hug. He stood looking grey in the face. Ashen.<br>"No, no." he whispered. He was shaking his head. Hermione had no idea how it was like to almost lose three brothers, and actually lose one, all in one day.  
>"Ron, I need to tell you something. I love you, you're like a brother I never had." She had to let him know. She had just lost one of her two brothers. Brothers in everything but blood. He looked at her, his eyes still distant and unbelieving. Hermione wished she could help him; he looked like he could never go on from this.<br>"Ditto, 'Mione" was all he could get out. But it was good enough for her. She hugged him, and let herself cry.  
>Tears were still streaming down her face, when Hagrid came into proper view. Harry lay, entirely still. Hermione had never seen anything so nightmare-ish. He was Harry Potter; he was the boy who survived anything. He was so strong, so kind-hearted. He was a hero and a saviour. He was a fighter. But most of all, he was a friend. A friend of everyone who would let him close enough. He was the best friend you could ask for, when you gained his trust. He would protect you until the end, no matter if you were a stranger, a friend or even not human.<br>"NO!" The heart-wrenching sound was even more horrid, because Hermione couldn't believe it came from one of her favourite teachers, who also happened to be one of the strictest she knew. The Scottish woman was crying, her hands shaking, and all Hermione wanted to do, was go comfort her. But she had no idea how, and Ron needed her right now. She wasn't even aware that she and Ron were shouting themselves.

She couldn't hear anything that was being said, she couldn't even remember when Neville moved, and suddenly had the Sword of Gryffindor. She had no idea how she ended up in a duel with a Death Eater, and if you asked her for her version of Neville's beheading of Nagini, she wouldn't know what to say. Everything was in a blur, and suddenly, she was shouting out spells, casting them silently, or ducking others. Her aim was more accurate than it had ever been, and she was able to focus, even if her mind was in a haze.  
>And suddenly, all duelling stopped. And Harry was there. Alive. Hermione wanted to scream and yell, sing and dance, she was so happy. She had no idea how he did it, but there he was, taunting Voldemort, like –<em> wait. Taunting Voldemort? Harry!<em>

"-You never learn from your mistakes, Riddle, do you?" Hermione was silently praying for Harry to stop. It was never a good idea to anger dangerous psychos with wands. Definitely never a good idea.  
>"It all comes down to one thing; does the wand in your hand know that its last master was overpowered? Because if it does, then <em>I'm <em>the Elder wand's true master" Hermione wasn't breathing. Her heart was beating like never before, and she had no idea what to do. She wanted to draw her wand and curse Voldemort, she wanted to curse _Harry_, but she was rooted to the spot. She heard the spells, being cast, she saw the wand ricochet, and she saw Tom Riddle fall. And then it was chaos. Harry had just defeated Voldemort. Harry had just defeated Voldemort, after he had sacrificed himself for all of them.  
>"HARRY JAMES POTTER!" She screamed, her anger resonating throughout the room. Everything went quiet as Hermione stalked toward him. Her eyes were flashing in anger, and steam seemed to be coming out of her eyes; that was how angry she was. She saw Harry gulp, and almost smirked.<br>"HOW _DARE_ YOU DO SUCH A STUPID THING? DO YOU HAVE _ANY_ IDEA HOW BLOODY WORRIED I WAS? DO YOU HAVE A _CLUE_ AS TO HOW I FELT WHEN I HEARD YOU WERE _DEAD_! DAMMIT HARRY POTTER, FACE ME WHEN I'M LECTURING YOU!" She was ranting and she knew it, but she couldn't help it; she had been so worried. She stalked up to him, slapped him across his face, and then, to everybody's shock, she sank into his arms and cried loudly. Laughter broke out in the room, and suddenly everybody was around Harry, smiling, hugging, crying and clapping. Ginny broke through the masses and kissed him. When they broke apart, Harry did some sort of flourish with his wand, and suddenly, he was on his knees. He looked into Ginny's eyes held up the ring; it flashed and sparkled in the rising sunlight. Ginny's eyes were wide, but she was grinning as tears slid down her face. He didn't even have to say anything, for she nodded and whispered out a yes. He slipped the ring onto her finger, and then they were embracing again.  
>Catcalls could be heard all around; Mrs Weasley was sobbing against her husband in happiness, the Weasley brothers were all laughing and clapping. Ron had his arm around a pretty blonde girl; Hermione recognized her to be Lisa Turpin, a girl from her house, though a year below. They stood close together, and occasionally, he would lean down and press a kiss to her temple. Hermione smiled at them and celebrated the end of the war with everybody else, laughing and hugging and yelling just like they did.<p>

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><p><strong>Of course I wasn't going to kill off Fred, or any of Ron's other brothers! The Twins are two of my favourite Harry Potter characters. I bawled my eyes out when Freddie died. DH is one of favourite Harry Potter books, but I was so angry at JKR for killing off so many good people. :( <strong>

**Love,**

**MissH-95 **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello my lovely readers! :D I hope you can pardon the long wait for this chapter - but I must say that I can't promise regular updates, as my schedule changes from week to week and I don't know how much time school will take from me :( Don't worry though, I'm sure I'll be able to squeeze in some time for writing! :D **

**Now, last time: We get to hear about the Battle of Hogwarts from Hermione's point of view, and we get a little insight in her feelings about Harry going off to face Voldemort by himself, and afterwards taunting him. George thanks her for saving his brothers, and Harry proposes to Ginny! **

**Happy reading! **

**Chapter 5**

For one Hermione Jean Granger, the days that followed the Battle of Hogwarts, was chaos. Actually, _everything_ was chaos in the Wizarding World. Hermione, Harry and Ron were hauled from one interview to the other. Hermione had no idea why she was with them, until it was revealed that they had all been seen coming out from Gringotts on a dragon, and had all been recognized upon further inspection. When Harry had heard that, he had – without being prompted to do so – called a press-conference, and made an official apology to the Goblins for violating their property, and breaking into one of their high-security vaults. He stated, that in order to kill Lord Voldemort, he had to have access to the vault, as Bellatrix and Lestrange and her husband had been storing a highly dark, and highly dangerous artefact that needed to be destroyed. Harry said that he would be more than willing to pay for any damages. The goblins had been very offended that anyone dared violating their bank, but upon inquiring as to what the object was and hearing the answer, the goblins readily forgave the trio for breaking in.  
>"It's against our regulations and laws to store anything so dark; had we known, we would have disposed of it immediately"<p>

Harry had become sick and tired of all the interviews, and so he summoned Hermione and Ron, sat down so they could recount the adventure, and publish it on their own. It had been a very long article, but every single wizard and witch in Britain – if not most of the world – read it anyway, all very eager to know what had been going on, and where the 'Golden Boy' and his friends (also referred to as the 'Golden Trio' though they had only been friends for a couple of months) had been for all those months.

The damages from the war were severe; all over Britain had cities and buildings been destroyed. People were busy raising monuments and helping clean up after the war. The emotional wound the war had left on the Magic People was slowly mending, but it was a process that would require many months – if not years – yet.

It was a long job, rebuilding the Ministry after its disastrous fall, and every member was questioned under Veritaserum by the remaining members of the Order.  
>Kingsley Shacklebolt was put in as temporary Minister for Magic, and he tried as best as he could to rebuild wizarding Britain, as well as trying to get a proper democracy instated.<p>

Hogwarts had been rebuilt as well, and now a big monument in the middle of the Entrance Hall listed every fallen fighter for the Light. Cedric Diggory, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora 'Tonks' Lupin and Sirius Black were among them.  
>Hermione always felt saddened when she walked past that monument. She had decided that she would be working at Hogwarts for now, alternating between teaching Potions and helping McGonagall teach Transfiguration, as the older woman had become Headmistress and had a lot of work to do, bringing the first years, who had been denied entry to the school the year before, in, and sorting through all of the other affairs. She, too, had to question all her students under the truth serum, first of all to make sure they weren't Death Eaters in training, second of all to see if they knew where some of the remaining Death Eaters were.<p>

Hermione was very glad she was at Hogwarts for the time being. Harry and Ron had hesitated about going back to school, but had decided in the end, that they would rather start their Auror training right away. They had been requested for the job, so not having their NEWT's was surprisingly not a problem.

With all the stress out of their lives, Harry, Hermione and Ron had become even better friends. They could constantly be seen going out for lunch together, along with Ginny and Lisa. Hermione quickly found the girls to be her friends as well, Ginny more so than Lisa. Ginny was quickly becoming her best female friend, and when Hermione wasn't at Hogwarts she found herself adopted into the Weasley family, and living at the Burrow.  
>Hermione loved Mrs Weasley, she was such a kind-hearted soul, but still so fierce, all rolled into a small woman with amazing cooking-skills.<p>

Mr Weasley delighted in having her explain all sorts of Muggle things, and she found it amusing. He was a mild-spirited person, kind and with a certain amount of mischief in him, that it was no wonder all of his kids were such troublemakers.

Bill and Charlie were both brilliant; Bill and her kept up long discussions of the spellwork involved in Curse-breaking and other magic-related topics, and Charlie kept pestering about that dragon she had rode out of Gringotts with Harry and Ron.  
>"Was it ill? How did it look? Do you know where it is now?" but sometimes it was more along the lines of "Did you know what species it was? How was it, to fly a dragon?" all sorts of questions like that. He was the same with Harry and Ron, but they were used to him, so they just laughed.<p>

Fred and George were very busy with their shop; it flourished like never before when the war was finally over for good, but they loved it, and they were always laughing and sharing stories about the customers. Percy on the other hand, had taken some time off from the Ministry, saying that he wanted to travel the world a bit, see the different cultures. He confided in Hermione during one of their discussions, that he wanted to introduce a new class at Hogwarts; World Cultures, so that the wizarding Britain could get an insight into the outside wizarding world, after having been holed up for so long.  
>Hermione thought it was a brilliant idea. Mrs Weasley was slightly more hesitant at letting her son go; she had just gotten him back again, and she didn't want to let him go.<p>

Hermione was toying with the idea of writing a book about the Muggleborn experience of the war, but was unsure on whether to actually do it or not.  
>When she had graduated, she had quickly realized what a danger she was in. She often found herself having to hurry away, before somebody recognized her as a Muggleborn. With that revelation, she also knew what a danger her parents were in. A girl she often studied with from Hufflepuff, named Stacy, who was also a Muggleborn, had one day Fire-called her, asking if she could come over. Hermione was startled, because they hadn't been that good friends, but quickly agreed. When the crying girl came through the Floo, she collapsed in Hermione's arms, and sobbingly told her what had happened to her parents. Hermione knew instantly why the girl had come to her; they were both Muggleborns, the other would understand.<br>When Stacy had fallen asleep on Hermione's couch, Hermione had hurriedly gone to her parents. She had explained the situation, and they had only reluctantly agreed to be Memory-charmed. Hermione had closed down their practice, changed their identities and sent them away on a plane to Australia where they had bought a house. She had only hoped it was enough to keep them safe.

When she had gone back to Australia to retrieve her parents, she was so relieved to find them both alive and well. She had lifted their Memory-blocks, and when they had hugged her close to them, she felt like a little girl again, safe with her parents, and it had felt so unbelievable good, that she had stayed with them for nearly a month before she went back to England. They told her they would follow when they had all their affairs in order, and she nodded, happy that she still had her parents, because she didn't know what she'd do without them. During her time in Australia, Hermione had just laid back and enjoyed a vacation. She knew that once she got back to England, she would have to find work for herself. She really wanted to, though she probably wouldn't need to. The Ministry had offered her a generous 'donation', because of her help in the war.

It was really rather ridiculous.

When she came back though, Wizarding Britain was in chaos. She had had little to no interaction with her friends the past month, due to her telling them she was going to find her parents, and she wanted to be with them for a bit. They had respected her wishes, and left her alone for most part, with the occasional owl to ask her how her parents were doing and a small update on their work and family and so on.  
>She was appalled when she saw what had everybody so upset. The <em>Daily Prophet <em>had a few days before Hermione returned, issued a piece about the Ministry's idea on how to secure the Wizarding population after the war; a Marriage Law. A goddamn Marriage Law. They were going to force people into marriage, and they were going to force pregnancies.  
>Hermione could sort of see where they were coming from; Wizarding Britain had lost countless good wizards and witches, with just as many Death Eaters thrown in during the First and Second Wizarding War, in only 28 years. A rise in Squibs had been on the way for a long time now, due to Wizarding Purebloods only marrying Purebloods, most commonly their own cousins. All the inbreeding caused diminish in their magical cores, until they were so weak they could barely pass for a wizard or witch. Their own parents burned them off their precious Family-trees, and cast them aside like they were no good. Squibs had a higher chance of producing Squibs too, and the only way to securely save the Wizarding population, was to mix blood. Muggleborns had a very small chance of not producing a magical child, if they were paired with a Half- or Pureblood. Introducing new blood into society would definitely be a way to be certain that witches and wizards didn't die out. '<em>But to force us into marriage'<em>, Hermione thought, '-_is a little extreme'_.

After that first issue in the paper, people had been in an uproar, but they comforted themselves in the fact that it was still an idea, and that it might not come through. Hermione knew for certain that every witch and wizard understood the problem; they just didn't want to have their life-partner picked out for them.  
>But the day after Hermione returned, the idea came through. Kingsley Shacklebolt, the – now rightfully voted in – Minister for Magic stood forward in a press-conference, looking annoyed but hopeful, and announced that the Marriage Law had been voted on, and the majority were for it.<br>"I realize this is a major inconvenience for most. After much debate and discussion, the Ministry of Magic has come to the decision, that the Marriage Law is the best way to secure our population, our magic. We have tried and tried to come up with another solution, but this was the best idea. Nobody between the age of 17 and 35 who are still single can get out of this Law. That includes Ministry-workers, also myself. The Ministry has a self-updating book that shows marriages and proposals which mean you cannot cheat. You cannot write the Ministry and say you got engaged, just to get out of it. There is no turning your back on this Law. The punishment will be imprisonment in Azkaban. Failure to complete your duty will cause imprisonment or a large fine. In the next 5 years minimum, all who comes of age will receive a letter detailing their marriages. We, here at the Ministry, apologize for the heartache and pain this might cause. We apologize for the inconvenience, but must underline the importance of this law, and why it's been issued. Our population is thinning, and we need a fresh bout of magical children. If we had not proposed this law, we would be distinct, quickly. Thank you for your understanding."  
>Hermione was just as angry as the next person, but she appreciated his speech. It was good to know that not even the highest ranking members of the Ministry could get out of the law. Hermione knew, that when Shacklebolt had informed them of his own arranged marriage, that he got the sympathy of the people, and they would be less likely to disobey. Besides, many were still terrified of Azkaban, even if the Dementors weren't there anymore.<p>

In the article that followed the Minister's speech, it was explained what would happen. Within the next week, every witch and wizard that was eligible between the required ages would be sent a list of questions. They were to answer them all truthfully. A quill would follow, charmed so that only it could answer the sheet, and for extra precaution, both were spelled to only write truthful answers. When the sheet had been send back (and there was no getting out of this one either; the owl would stay until the questions were answered), all the information would be gathered and some machine the Department of Mysteries had been working overtime in finishing, would choose who the best candidates for you were. A team of Ministry workers that had been stationed in the new office opened called 'Department of Control of Magical Marriages' would go over everything and choose your new life-partner. You had no choice what-so-ever in who was picked; they didn't even send out a list of possible candidates for you to choose from; probably to avoid the same person being picked many times over.

Hermione sighed when she had read through the article. She would be 19 soon, and she had never planned on being married so early on. Let alone thinking of kids so soon. But now she would have to, because that was the whole point of this Marriage Law; to produce children.  
>To be honest, she had never even been with a man, and now she was forced into marriage with some guy she had probably never met, and it was required of her to have sex with him, and have children. Honestly, what if she didn't even like the guy? It could be that prat, Draco Malfoy, from a year below for all she knew! Seriously! What if she had been gay? What would they have done then? What if the person she was marrying was gay? How did they expect that to work out? Hermione thought it was very insensitive of the Ministry to not think of the men and women, who would suffer even more from the law because of their sexuality.<p>

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><p><strong>So, now the Marriage Law has been brought to the stage.. What do you think? :)<strong>

**Love, **

**MissH-95**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello! :) Well let's ****just get on with it then, happy reading! **

**Oh, but I just remembered, it's been a while since I've done one of these; DISCLAIMER: No. I don't.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

When the questions came, Hermione was surprised at them. They were clinical yet personal, and she found herself blushing when the question came about if she had ever been sexually active. 'If yes, please see a Healer to cure you for any sexual deceases you might have received.' Honestly. Some of the questions she was fairly comfortable with; what were your NEWT level scores? Your OWLs? What do you enjoy reading? What do you enjoy doing? – all sorts of questions, to determine her personality, she assumed. She had no idea if she would be paired with someone like her, or if she would be paired with her polar opposite. The day after she had sent her answers, she got a reply saying she would have her life decided for her, the next Friday. Okay, so maybe the reply went a little more like 'Thank you for your cooperation, you will receive an answer on Friday, the 14th of August 1998'  
>Hermione was suddenly nervous. The following week, she had problems concentrating on finding herself a job. She wondered if she should go back to teach at Hogwarts, but decided against it. With her new marriage coming up – she shuddered slightly at the idea – she would need to be home.<br>She had moved back into her flat just outside of Wizarding London, and was now trying to determine what she wanted to do. She had survived off of her parents during the war; she was a Muggleborn, and it was a stupid idea to leave public records of her whereabouts. But now, she had the opportunity to pursue what she wanted. She knew her grades were good enough to get her in just about anywhere.

It was the Sunday of the same week she had received the questions, 5 days before they revelation of her husband, and she was reading _The Daily Prophet. _She was reading an article written by an anonymous man, calling himself J. Evans, about the prejudice of the Wizarding World. It was in that same moment, that Hermione realized she wanted to help people. Not help people in the way a Healer saved lives, or the way an Auror did. She wanted to make the Magic World a better place for less fortunate. Like Werewolves – she had loved Professor Lupin back in her 4th year – and even House Elves. Like Muggleborns. She could help there, of that she was certain.  
>"So I'm going Ministry" Hermione said out loud to herself, with a small smile on her face.<br>The first thing she did Monday morning was apparating to the Ministry, but she got into a bit of a hurdle. Witches and wizards were flocking around the guest-entry. They were all very angry looking, and even if Hermione thought it might not be the safest route right now, there was little she could do. Of course, she could use the main entrance, but she did not have the coins it required. She knew about the entrance because of Harry and Ron. She had been smart enough to not use the Floo; she was positive it was closed off for the time being, until the anger of the Wizarding World dampened down. So she waited like all the others. When she could finally squeeze herself in between a group, she suddenly felt more nervous than she liked to admit. She clutched her handbag; in it were her recommendations from former professors, her OWL and NEWT results, and her résumé though it wasn't very long; just the occasional Muggle summer-job, and where she had been working once she had left Hogwarts (though that was for all of 3 months before she decided to go underground).

She walked with determination to the counter, where she would have her wand checked. Security after the war had been tightened considerately; every group who came out of the elevator – or the Guest Entrance – were escorted by 2 sourly-looking guards, who would lead them to the counter, where they would check their wands, their bags, and search them with a funny looking device Hermione thought she had seen Filch with in her 6th and 7th year.

When she reached the counter with the group, all the others started yelling and pointing loudly. Hermione stood somewhat quietly in line, until she could see the frazzled wizard behind the counter. She smiled softly at him, handing him her wand and he looked almost relieved that he wouldn't be getting any death-threats and whatever else the Wizarding Community of England could come up with at the time being.

"Not here to yell at me, even if there's nothing I can do?" The wizard joked, though rather jumpily if Hermione had to comment, but she just shook her head.  
>"While I'm not happy with the Ministry for their decision, I have come here to apply for a job." With a small smirk at his astonished look, she walked away and started for the elevators at the other end of the Atrium.<p>

Hermione knocked softly on the door of the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures' office, and waited to be called in.  
>The balding wizard behind the desk looked mildly frustrated. He smiled slightly at Hermione when she walked in, stood up and shook her hand. Indicating for her to sit down, he summoned a bottle of water and gulped it down. Even if it wasn't the greatest first impression, Hermione held her face composed, though she was mildly disgusted by his behaviour; '<em>at least drink a little more civilly'<em>, she thought.  
>"Hello, my name is Hermione Granger; I am here in search of a position." She started, when he did not introduce himself. Either he was very stressed out, or he had never been on the receiving end of a manner-lesson. Hermione kept back her frown.<br>"Ah yes; my name is Phelps McKemp, I am head of this department" Hermione resisted the urge to say 'no shit, Sherlock' but decided that if she wanted this job, she better not insult the man.

During their interview, she had to bite back many sarcastic remarks, but she held them in check. She wanted to make a difference, and here, she could. It might take years, but Hermione was a patient woman, she could deal. In the end, they shook hands, and Hermione was told she would have the answer, within the week. As she walked out, she felt fairly confident she had the job; it looked like he was glad to have an intelligent mind come and seek a job in his Department.  
>She decided to swing by the Burrow to say hello; she had not yet been by to see them since she got home, and she felt a little guilty for that. Picking up some flowers from Muggle-London, she went home, changed, and apparated to the Weasley residence.<p>

"Hermione dear, how nice to see you! Did you have a good trip to Australia? Did you get home alright?" Hermione smiled warmly at the witch; she had missed Mrs Weasley on her trip.  
>"Hello Mrs Weasley; I had a fine trip thank you. My parents are coming home soon enough, so it'll all be fine." Mrs Weasley smiled though she asked Hermione to call her Molly – Hermione still had a hard time adjusting to that. Even Harry still called her Mrs Weasley when he was around (which was often) and he was her son-in-law to come. Though Hermione suspected it was more to tease her than anything.<br>Making their way to the kitchen, Mrs Weasley chatted excitedly, though it was with an undertone of regret and anger.  
>"I am quite nervous about this whole Marriage Law thing dear; Arthur has said there has been such a hassle at the Ministry, and I'm worried. I have been saying to my boys to get a move on, get me some grandchildren but they never were ready to settle down. I don't like how they're taking all this, dear, no not at all" Hermione, though not having known Molly for long, could tell she was genuinely really worried for her sons; how were they going to take to forced marriage? Charlie, the Twins, even Ron were all rather happy with their freedom. For it to be taken away so forcefully would be horrible for the Weasley sons.<br>Bill was already settled with his beautiful bride, and before she had gone to Australia she had seen Molly and Fleur talking animatedly about babies; something Fleur kept hinting at was right around the corner (Mrs Weasley was so pleased – the woman appeared to be seeing babies before her eyes, like some saw Galleons). Percy was a bit more diplomatic about the whole thing from what she gathered; he just hoped his new bride would be willing to travel the world with him. Hermione secretly thought it would be good for them to have that opportunity to get to know each other, without the hassle from their daily lives.  
>"I know Mrs Weasley; I think this is tough on all of us; all we can do is hope we will get paired with someone we can at least stand to be around." Mrs Weasley's eyes watered, startling Hermione, and before she knew it, she was pulled into a tight hug by the older witch, who stammered out that she really hoped so.<p>

Their embrace was interrupted however, when Ron came hurdling into sight.  
>"'Mione! You're home!" And then she was swept into another hug, being swirled around before being passed on into the arms of her other best friend – brother really – Harry Potter. Laughter rang out as she hugged them back. Her vision suddenly blurred as long tendrils of red hair was in her face.<br>"Ginny! I've missed you!" She heard the muttered gush of 'I missed you too!' before she was let go, and could breathe properly again. Truthfully, she had been back for a couple of days, and the Weasleys knew this; she'd just been too busy setting up her parents' practice again, dealing with the whole Marriage Law thing and the whole job search thing, that she'd been too distracted to swing by. Not like the Weasley's hadn't had theirs to look to; they'd been just as – if not more – busy as she, but now that she was there, she wished she had gone a little earlier. She had truly missed them all; she loved spending time around them, loved being included in their family gatherings, and in truth, also their family.

That evening, Mr and Mrs Weasley, Percy, Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione sat seated around the table. Percy was talking about his impending departure, speaking animatedly about all the things he wished to learn. Mrs Weasley – though still a little wary – had been warming up to the idea, and was really rather looking forward to hear about Percy's observations and discoveries. Harry and Ginny were content; they didn't have to rush their wedding as so many would have to in the upcoming months. They were searching for houses at the moment, and Hermione was pleased to see them so relaxed with each other. It made her heart warm, that at least two of her friends would be happily going into their marriage.  
>When it was time for Hermione to leave the Weasley household, it was with promises that she'd return that Friday, and open her letter along with the Weasleys. She agreed; she didn't want to be alone when she opened hers. She would be apparating there first thing in the morning, when she got her letter.<p>

The week slowly crept by. Hermione would wake sweating, from nightmares of horrific weddings with grooms who went from being Draco Malfoy, to Fenrir Greyback (even though she knew he had died during the Battle of Hogwarts – good riddance) to that Zorn fellow that had captured her that fateful night, in the forest. Now that she thought about it, she wasn't quite sure what happened to him, other than the fact that Harry had taken his wand, and that Ron had been using it to train duelling with two wands, or something like that. It was very likely Ron had snapped it, after the war…  
>The waiting was driving Hermione crazy. She had already started organizing her wedding; it was always with a grim expression she sat to do it, but she needed to do something, and planning the wedding would make for a good pastime, even if she dreaded the actual event.<br>She was jumpy and her fingers trembled every time she received an owl. She was constantly berating herself for being such a, such a- she really didn't know how to describe herself, but she didn't like it.

Wednesday, she received an owl from the Ministry for a brief moment she panicked and thought they had sent her, her new groom-to-be's name early, but relaxed slightly, as she saw it was just an acceptance letter of her job-interview… Wait a minute- ACCEPTANCE LETTER!  
>Hermione nearly jumped with glee; she had gotten the job! Without further ado, she apparated to her parents' temporary flat, they had just gotten in two days before, but they were still quite eager to get back to work, and maybe even settle back into their old house.<br>They were less than pleased with Hermione's government for making their little girl marry before she was ready, but there was little they could do about it; they knew this.

"Mum! MUM! DAD!" Hermione yelled excitedly as she unlocked their door, and walked into their flat – and then promptly turned and walked out, wishing she had never gone in to begin with, eyes wide with horror. Her parents. Inside. _Snogging_. Against the kitchen counter no less. And by the looks of it, it would have gone further, if she hadn't walked in. Hermione thanked her lucky stars, that if she _had_ to go through such a horrific experience, at least she had been early. She shuddered at even thinking about imagining what she could have walked in on. Hermione believed, that no matter how old you got, you would never be able to think about your parents' sex-life. She shuddered. It was with faces burning with embarrassment that her parents came out to invite an equally embarrassed Hermione in. There was a long awkward silence, before Hermione's dad cleared his throat.  
>"So, what has got you so excited, Mimi?" Hermione seriously had no idea where her dad got 'Mimi' from 'Hermione' but he had always called her that, and she revelled in that little piece of her childhood; some things never change, and even with Hermione turning out to be a witch, that stayed the same.<br>"Right, I eh- I got an acceptance letter from the Ministry! I got a job!" Hermione was quickly back to her exuberant self. Her parents beamed at her, and praised her for her accomplishment. She flushed with pleasure at the praise; she had always thrived for it when she was little, and it hadn't changed one bit in her adult life.

The day went rather quickly for Hermione after that. She wasn't expected at work before Monday, but Hermione was ready the next day. She decided that she really wanted to get settled and started right away, so Thursday morning she had a small box of things she wished to have with her. Even if she didn't get a private office just yet, her cubicle would still be her space, and she wanted some personal belongings with her. Mr McKemp didn't waste any time when she came in four days early. He showed her to the booth she would be working in, and promptly gave her a case-file with assignments for her. Yes, Hermione knew that it might take years for her to actually make a difference, but she would be happy with what she got at the moment. Maybe wait a month or two before she _really_ got to work.

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><p><strong>So, 'Mione's got herself a job! Next up is the arrival of the dreaded letters! :D<strong>

**Love, **

**MissH-95**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi all ye faithful readers! So, here's the next chapter! Hope you like it - there's nothing else to say really :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do have to do one of these though, so let's get on with it: I do not, nor have I ever owned the Harry Potter Series. All rights go to JK. Rowling; I just have a weakness for messing around with her lovely characters...**

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><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

Hermione Jean Granger was glaring at the owl. The owl was glaring right back, though she wasn't aware if owls could actually glare. It was staring rather evilly at her owlishly, at least. Breaking away from her staring contest with the owl –_ really Granger, staring down an owl?,_ her brain scolded – she reached out, and cautiously poked the letter, as if it might burn her. In her opinion, it might as well. She didn't even dare open it. She didn't want to, and she was pretty sure she was unable to alone.

Quickly grabbing some clothes and throwing them on, she apparated straight to the Burrow, forgoing breakfast. She'd lost her appetite anyway. Her impending doom was approaching. She had to resist the urge to gag when she stumbled as her feet hit the ground. Fatigued, she made her way to the door, and she was greeted by a pale Mrs. Weasley.  
>Without a word, she was let to the kitchen, where all the Weasleys were gathered. Bill and Fleur were standing at the kitchen counter, Bill with his arms around Fleur as she rested her hands on his. Charlie was seated on the counter next to the stove; he looked just as bad as Hermione felt. As she brushed past him, she patted his shoulder apologetically, and he nodded at her, acknowledging her comfort, and offering her his condolences in return.<br>Normally, Hermione would have scoffed at the sombre mood – for Merlin's sake, they were acting as if someone had just died – but she felt it was highly appropriate for this.

The room was tense, and it unnerved her; things were never tense at the Weasley household. Ron, Percy and the Twins were sitting with Mr Weasley at the end of the table, with Harry and Ginny a few seats down from them. Hermione felt the need to join those who really understood her situation, and went to sit beside Ron. Wait, Ron?  
>"Ron?" her tone was confused, but she didn't even have to ask further. His face took on a darker look as he explained.<br>"Lisa and I thought we had enough time. She didn't want to be engaged, she wanted more time, time to date and such, before we settled. I agreed with her, but now it's too late." He scowled and glared at the envelope that lay unopened before him. The Twins were unusually quiet, and Hermione felt a twinge of sympathy for them; she knew them well enough to know this wasn't what they wanted. She hadn't interacted with them much, they had been busy with their shop, but she had talked a little with them, and she thought they were really funny, always the life of the party. Seeing them like this was chilling to the bone. Percy had a stony look on his face.  
>All had envelopes in front of them, and all were quiet. Hermione lay down hers, and she sat in silence, staring like the rest. Nobody dared break the silence, and nobody dared mentioning toward the pieces of parchment that would change their lives forever.<p>

Finally Charlie broke the silence.

"Might as well dig up that Gryffindor courage I have buried down somewhere." His tone was bitter and angry, and his hands shook as he picked up the offending piece of parchment. His eyes grew with horror, but some relief, as he read through the text.  
>Hermione became curious as to what the Ministry might have cooked up for all of them.<br>"Blimey, at least three kids, and I have to get married within the next 3 months! Merlin!" Hermione's heart thudded with panic as she heard him. They had determined how may kids they were to have? Could they really do that? Ron and Percy were the next to open theirs; Ron more reluctant than Percy. It seemed to be an unspoken agreement that nobody would utter the name of their betrothed ones before everybody had opened their destiny. Ron grunted in annoyance but kept quiet, his mood darker than ever. Percy's eyes lit with curiosity as he read his. Mrs Weasley seemed to be teetering about, impatiently and nervously awaiting the answers. Taking a deep breath Hermione opened hers. She absentmindedly took note of the Twins doing the same, but she was too busy holding her breath and shakily read through the letter to really notice.

And then she just stared.

"Oh thank Merlin." She breathed, letting out the breath she'd been holding. A wide pair of blue eyes snapped to hers. She looked back at him, trying to smile, but failing. The words of her letter had been a relief, that's for sure. At least she knew she wasn't marrying some git with a pureblood superiority issue.  
>"You're okay with this?" It was George. Hermione frowned a bit, but shrugged.<br>"At least I'm marrying you, and not some git like Malfoy." His blue eyes became even wider as she said that.  
>"You're marrying who, again?" She looked at him confused. Then she looked down at the still folded letter in his hands, and flushed slightly. Looking away, she avoided answering, leaving him to read the answer on his own. She hadn't meant to say that. She really hadn't.<br>"Bloody hell, 4 kids?" he said and looked incredulously at her. More like stared. She frowned a bit. It was like he thought she wasn't good enough or something. She looked away, feeling her eyes sting.

George was still staring at her. Fred was running a hand through his hair beside him. Mr Weasley could hardly hold in the need to hear his sons' faiths, but he kept still. Ginny and Harry were staring at Hermione and George, gaping like fish out of water. With one glance at Hermione, Harry turned the stare into a glare directed at George. George flinched as he recalled the last few minutes, and realizing what his stare must have made her think. It was just a little hard to take in, that's all.  
>"Well, I'm marrying Angelina, thank Merlin. I think it might actually work out with her; we've dated before" Fred was rambling on, trying to break the awkward silence. Charlie glanced nervously at Ron.<br>"I- I'm marrying Lisa," Ron stiffened "Lisa Turpin." Ron dropped his head into his hands. Charlie flinched; he hated hurting his baby brother.  
>"Cho. Cho Chang." Harry cringed and shot a sympathetic look at his best mate. Cho was… difficult, he knew.<br>Hermione grimaced with him. Sure, she tolerated the girl, but only because they shared a dorm together. Hermione never had been one for girly talks or fretting about dates. Cho was one of those girly girls, and she thrived off of romance. Poor Ron.  
>"I am to marry a woman called Audrey. I have never met her, but I am certain we will figure something out." Percy stated. Mrs Weasley then broke out into sobs, hiccupping through sentences of her little boys growing up and getting married.<p>

Hermione quickly slipped out of the kitchen, and only then, did she let the tears fall. So George didn't think they could work it out? She was almost sure that was what he had thought when he had turned that incredulous stare at her. It was almost like the thought of them being married and having children was laughable to him. She choked on the sob that she almost let go, but she held it in, wiping her eyes as she did so.  
>"Hermione?" A tentative voice called out. Quickly swiping her hands over her face to get away with the remaining tears, she turned to face him.<br>"Yes?" She inwardly cringed at how her voice sounded. He would be able to tell she had been crying for sure. She turned away again.  
>"What'd I do?" Hermione had only heard George vulnerable once, and that was on May 2nd, during the final battle.<br>"I- I don't want to talk about it" she whispered. It was stupid; of course the idea of them together was ridiculous to him. He probably wanted someone funny, with a passion for Quidditch and not some Ravenclaw bookworm, whom had rarely left the library.

He sat down beside her and waited in silence.

"You know, I'm glad it's you." He finally said. Hermione slowly raised her head and looked at him. Really looked at him. Hermione knew he had lost an ear some time ago, under a surprise attack when they were moving Harry to a safer location before he turned 17. But he and Fred had been growing their hair out; probably to be able to confuse everybody with their favourite joke again. But it suited him, the shaggy locks. They covered the missing ear, and the bangs fell into his blue eyes. The blue colour was very pretty too; though she would never admit it to him. It wasn't a pale blue; it was more- intense was a good word. The freckles made him look innocent, though the mischievousness in his eyes told another story. He was actually kind of cute, even if Hermione had never known him to be her type.  
>"Are you really? Or are you just trying to make me feel better?" Finally her voice sounded. It was small, and George had the feeling that what he said next might make or break their friendship. George owed her everything; he owed her his life. And if this was the way to help, then so be it. Anything to help his Angel.<br>"Yeah, I really mean it. I'm just a little shocked. It wasn't what I expected, I'll be honest. I didn't really know what to expect, but I'm glad it's you. You aren't some ditz; you can actually hold a conversation. You'd be surprised how many birds come into the store to try and get Fred and I out. It's ridiculous." He grinned at her, and she smiled slightly at the way his eyes lit up when he grinned.  
>"You just..," Hermione looked down again. She knew she would have to be honest with him; if they had to live together for the rest of their lives, they would have to have some foundation to build at least a friendship on. Honesty was the best way to go, she knew that.<br>"You just looked like the idea of me as the Mrs to your Mr was laughable. It hurt, I'll admit to that" she whispered to him. He pulled her against him, tucking her head under his chin. Hermione was overwhelmed with that calming smell she remembered from the Battle; newly mowed grass, fresh parchment and what she recognized as spearmint. The calming effect it had had on her then rushed over her, and she sighed, just a little.  
>"I'm sorry if you thought that was it. I was just thinking I could never possibly pay you back, Hermione. If anything, the idea of me being the Mr to your Mrs is absurd." He stopped and took a deep breath. But Hermione cut him off before he could say anymore.<br>"Then maybe it's just right. I'm glad it's you George; at least I know you'll treat me right." She smiled softly, still cuddled to his chest.  
>"I'll always treat you right. It's the least I can do. Even if this is Ministry-forced, at least it gives me a chance to try and repay you; not to mention Mum would kill me if I didn't" he grinned at her, and kissed her temple, and they just sat there in silence for a minute, listening to the birds chirping. The Weasley garden was a peaceful place, even if it bustled with life and strange creatures.<p>

"Hey George?" he hummed to express his attention.  
>"Do you want to go out tonight?" George started to laugh.<br>"Of course I will Hermione. I was just about to ask you the same question." Hermione grinned and settled back into his frame. His body was very hard and lean, but she was comfortable. She felt kind of protected as he sat with his arm around her.

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><p><strong>So! We can finally get this party started! :)<br>Tell me what you think?**

**Love,**

**MissH-95**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi! Sorry for the wait! :) Here's the next chapter though, forgive me? *Looks around hopefully***

**So here it is Hermione and George on their very first date! Hope you like it, it took me awhile to get what I thought was right into words. Did that make sense? Anyway, it took awhile to write it, but I do think it turned out okay :D **

**DISCLAIMER: Honestly, I'm pretty sure I would have noticed it if I was JK Rowling. But as it is, I'm still in school, have never written mulitple bestsellers, nor am I blonde. So there. Obviously not JK here, people**

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><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

Hermione Jean Granger was never the type of girl to fret over a date. But then again, Hermione Jean Granger had never been on a first date with her soon-to-be-husband. Hermione had of course dated, but it was mostly in her summer-breaks. She hadn't been out on many, but there had been a couple of cute guys who had asked her out when she was home from Hogwarts. Now with the war over and everything, Hermione had only been on one date, once in Australia. It hadn't been very good either. But her mother had felt that she was cooped up with her parents, so Hermione had finally taken the neighbour of her parents up on his offer of a date. But apparently, he thought she would enjoy a wild night out with his friends. She didn't.

_Honestly,_ Hermione thought, _isn't there some sort of unwritten rule of being alone on the first date?_

But now she stood in front of her closet, her hair dripping wet – she hadn't bothered with a drying-charm, it would make her hair stand all around – with a towel around her, and she was panicking. She had _no_ idea what she should wear. She wanted to dress up for George; she wanted to make a good impression. She wanted him to see her as a woman, and not the bookwork from Ravenclaw, who had never been outside of a library. She sighed. This needed professional help.

Making her way to her living room, she made sure her towel was tightly wrapped around her. She grabbed some powder, and dropped to her knees.  
>"The Burrow!" Hermione knew that Ginny would be at the Burrow still, as there would be a family dinner tonight; Mrs Weasley wanted her kids to have one last normal day before their lives were thrown upside down. But George and Hermione had gotten special permission from the Weasley Matriarch, so all was well.<p>

Hermione was lucky; it was Ginny who answered her call. After 30 seconds of explaining, Ginny was on her way over. All she had had to say was 'I don't know what to wear! HELP ME!' and Ginny was to the rescue.  
>It wasn't even 45 minutes later, and Hermione was poked, prodded and perfected; she was ready for her date with George, and just in time.<p>

Her hair was fixed so that it fell in waves down her back, with some hair pulled back, twisted and held together on the back of her head. She had on a simple, flowing lilac dress with matching high heels. She felt pretty for the first time in a long while. It's not like that's what you focus on when you're on the run. It was good to feel like she could actually pass for a girl again. Hermione just hoped that George would like her dress as well. Ginny carefully hugged her before hurrying back to the Burrow – and just in time as well. George knocked on the door, and Hermione had to take a settling breath before she opened the door.

Normally you would see George in the most ridiculous outfits. Hermione had once seen him in a pair of green jeans with an orange shirt which had a Bludger being chased around by a Beater's bat on it. But she had to admit he cleaned up nice. He had a pair of jeans on, with a nice button-up shirt and a black cloak over his shoulders. She could only guess they weren't going to Muggle London. He smiled at her, and with a flourish of his hands, he held out a bouquet of flowers.  
>"Hi 'Mione. You look beautiful." She giggled at him, something she really didn't want to admit. Since when had she been reduced to a giggly girl in the presence of a handsome man?<br>"Thank you, George" Taking the flowers, she quickly put them in a vase and grabbed her cloak, and they were out the door.  
>George offered her his arm, and she had to hold back a girlish giggle. It was a very nice gesture, and she liked being treated like a lady for once. In all her years in the magical world, she'd always either been seen as a Mudblood or a frightfully clever student. Being with George was a whole new experience and she was enjoying it fully.<p>

They walked in silence for a little while, listening to the bustling life in the city. Hermione had to resist the urge to lay her head on his shoulder. Their silence was by no means uncomfortable; Hermione was content to just be in his presence. She felt no pressure to fill the silence with mindless chatter, though after a while she got curious as to where they were headed. She refrained from asking for a little while longer, until George turned down a narrow little dirt road, which led to a park.  
>"Where are we going, George?" She laughed softly, as he tugged on her arm to get her to speed up.<br>"It'd ruin the surprise if I told you, now, wouldn't it?" He grinned at her, flashing a full set of perfectly straight teeth. Hermione hoped that their children would get his teeth instead of hers; she's had to have Madam Pomphrey regulate hers, after she had fallen and a piece had broken off.

To distract her, no doubt, George began asking her all sorts of questions. What was her favourite book of all time? Which was a hard question for her to answer; there were just so many! In the end she'd settled on a favourite author instead. What was her favourite colour? She'd have to say a soft, light green, as it was the colour of hope. Had she ever had a pet before Hogwarts? No, because her father was allergic to most animals. He continued on with them, not giving her time to ask a few herself.

Finally, George seemed satisfied with where they were. They had arrived in a little nook in the park, surrounded by trees, and very secluded. If you didn't know it was there, you probably would pass it by. Then it dawned on Hermione; she lived a little outside of wizarding London, and this park was very near where she lived. There weren't many Muggles out, but the little nook was only occupied by wizards and witches. It was probably charmed like The Leaky Cauldron, so that only magical people could see it.  
>"Oh, George, it's lovely" Hermione whispered as she took in the little garden fully. Small tables were placed around, some bigger than others, with more chairs surrounding them. In the back, there was a little, white hut, where several witches were coming out from, levitating meals and drinks to various tables. To the side there was a small pond, where the sun reflected beautifully in the fading daylight. George smiled down at Hermione, and let her to a table for two, with a flower floating about 20 cm over the table top, going through the motions of life, from a mere nub, to a fully grown bloom.<br>"I can't believe I've never seen this place before! I've been in this park I don't know how many times!" she exclaimed as George chuckled slightly.  
>"Well I'm glad I get to be the one to show you then." He let her enjoy the view of the little haven, as he waved over a waitress. He was glad when Hermione didn't hesitate to ask for a soup for starters, and grilled chicken with a side dish of salad. He'd been out with girls before, who seemed to think it would impress him if they ate little to nothing.<p>

Over dinner, they laughed and got to know each other. George entertained with stories of his, Fred and Lee's – the Twins' best friend – pranks and the outcome of some of their self-tested products. In turn, Hermione told him about growing up Muggle, and coming into the magical world.  
>"I got a shock the first time I saw Dumbledore. I mean, I'd read <em>so <em>much about him, but the first time I saw him in person – Merlin I nearly laughed out loud." George had to laugh at that; he remembered Harry's reaction after the first speech he heard after the sorting: "Is he a bit mad?"

"Hey, Ron never told me, just how did you three become friends?" George asked. He knew that Ron and Harry had never even talked with Hermione before the war, and suddenly they were as thick as thieves.  
>"Well, Harry actually saved me. He and I, along with Dean, Luna and a goblin had all been caught by Snatchers, and were taken to Malfoy Manor. For some reason Bellatrix Lestrange thought the two of us had been in her vault, because Harry had the Sword of Gryffindor with him-" and she launched into a long tale of the following events. George felt a swell of anger well up in him when Hermione described what went down at Malfoy Manor not so long ago.<br>Hermione, for her part, did tell George a lot, but she didn't tell him everything. She didn't tell him about the scarred words she hid underneath long blouses, or where the thin white line on her neck had come from. She told him about coming to the tent, meeting Ron, getting to know everybody while they healed.  
>"On a happier note though, I am so grateful to have met those two. They're like the brothers I never had. They are really funny to be with, studious, intelligent. They have some amazing stories of their years at Hogwarts. I remember when Harry was in that damn tournament; I was terrified for him, he was three years too young! But to actually hear all about it from Harry's point of view – I was really glad I was too young to enter." Then she smiled and George felt warmth spread inside him. If nothing else, then a beautiful friendship would blossom between the two of them, he was sure of it. Maybe this Marriage Law thing could be good for something, after all.<p>

They sat several hours just talking. The food had long since been eaten, but they didn't really want the date to end, so they just sat, talking. Hermione watched him as he spoke about the joke-shop; his eyes lit up with happiness and mischievousness. The blue in them seemed to become lighter and his freckled nose wrinkled just a little bit when he laughed. His shaggy locks moved a bit in the wind, and Hermione had to resist the urge to reach out and run her hand through it. It looked really soft.  
>George had stopped talking, and was staring right back at her. Her long hair was wavy down her back – not the frizzled look he seemed to remember from her when they went to Hogwarts. Her deep brown eyes were framed with long dark lashes, only coated by a little amount of mascara. She had a cute button nose, and her lips were just right. George wanted to reach over, and take her hand, but he didn't want to cross any boundaries, as it was only their first date, even if they were getting married within the next five months. Due to the fact that they were as young as they were, the Ministry seemed to be giving them a little more time to prepare for everything. Seemed odd when Charlie and Lisa had to be married in three months, but who knew just what the Ministry were thinking.<br>"Should we head back?" His voice was low and he smiled slightly. With a sigh, Hermione agreed, and before she could even comment, George had summoned the waitress, paid the bill and stood to help her out of her chair. She was a little stunned, but immediately told him he didn't have to pay the bill; she had a little money.  
>"Mione, I took you out; I pay." Hermione frowned.<br>"But I asked you!" He laughed and tucked her toward him. Offering her his arm, he kept laughing and started walking. She huffed but grinned a little; she would just have to surprise him with lunch or something then.

In no time at all, they arrived back at her little flat. George walked her all the way to her door, and when she turned around to say goodbye, she was caught up in his gaze, the words dying on her tongue. The blue of his eyes held the brown of hers, and he smiled a little, before leaning in, and placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. He tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her right ear, and softly told her he had had a wonderful night.  
>"Me too, George. Thank you for the lovely evening." They smiled at each other, quietly saying goodbye. He disapparated leaving her with a small smile on her lips as she let herself in.<p>

She got ready for bed, realizing just how late it was, and just how tired she really had become. With a sigh she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

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><p><strong>So, was it any good? ;)<strong>

**Love,**

**MissH-95**


	9. Chapter 9

**Ugh, I know you guys probably hate me right now.. All I can say is that I'm sorry :( I'll try as hard as I can writing as many chapters ahead as I can while I'm still on vacation, so that I'll be able to update more regularly. As it is, I've been a little stuck with this story, but finally got to write more today! No more writer's block! WOO! :D **

**DISCLAIMER: ... Not even going to attempt one.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

Hermione Jean Granger – soon to be Weasley – realized just how hectic an upcoming marriage was. She and Mrs. Weasley - who (again) insisted she start calling her Molly, now that she was to be a part of the family - spent many nights discussing plans; flowers, dates, food, guests, music – it was all rather exhausting really. It had barely been a week since the bloody letters had come, and the Burrow was already chaotic, with family dinners, and meeting the "in-laws", trying to coordinate dates and shopping, food and themes.  
>All the soon-to-be-Weasleys were already becoming better acquainted, Lisa and Ron were working things out, trying to get accustomed to being in-laws instead of in-loves. Charlie had time and time again apologized to Ron, and not until Ron had finally snapped and told him that it sucked, but it was not Charlie's fault, had he stopped and though a bit weird, the brotherhood bond they shared was as strong as ever.<p>

They had all met Percy's fiancée, Audrey, and they were all agreed that she would be perfect for him. She shared the same love for rules, though she was adventurous as well. When Percy hesitantly told her about his plans to travel, during a family dinner at the Burrow, she had let out a sigh of relief and then a squeal, saying she would be more than happy and willing to come along. She worked as a Healer at St. Mungo's, but really wanted to study other countries' and cultures' method of healing. They would stay for the weddings, of course, but then they would leave to travel the world. Of course, they had to get special permission – not only from Mrs. Weasley, but also the Ministry – to do so, because of the required children. Percy and Audrey had to have at least 3 kids.  
>The 'at least' part of that requirement irritated Hermione. She didn't like that she had a minimum; what if she only wanted to have one child? Granted, she had always thought it was a little lonely growing up with no siblings, but still! She never said anything though, because she understood the reason behind the Ministry's meddling. And she was afraid she might end up sounding like Cho Chang; she had overheard her telling (more like whining) Angelina – who wasn't too fond of Cho, either – that she didn't want to give birth to 4 children, because it would ruin her figure. Her figure! Honestly! Angelina had pointed out she wasn't the only one who had to give birth to that many children, and there was this thing called exercise. Hermione had to hide her giggles in her hand.<p>

The only Weasleys out of the five that had received a letter, to not have 'at least' four children were Charlie and Lisa, and Percy and Audrey. Hermione found this extremely odd; because her theory was that the Ministry had made the number of children couples were to have, based on their age. And since Charlie was only 6 years older than Fred and George, who were to have four children, it really didn't make sense. It was even odder, because he was only eight years older than Lisa, and they were both at the prime of their age. But really, it didn't change much, other than a single pregnancy less.

Hermione had always considered herself to be independent; she was strong-willed and had chosen the path of a career instead of that of a housewife raising children. Sure, she'd always wanted children, but she never thought she'd be forced into pregnancy at nineteen. It was hard to wrap her head around the fact that within the next two years, she'd have to have a baby. If she didn't, she and George would have to take a fertility test, to see if there was anything wrong. If there wasn't they'd be given a fine. If there was, they'd be reassigned to another man or woman.

Since the date Hermione and George had been on, they'd had little time together. Hermione had been by the shop with lunch a couple of times, and George had popped up at her work once or twice. At the Burrow, they didn't get much alone time, and it was starting to freak Hermione out. She was to be married to this man, and she wanted to know him well before she was. She wanted to build their relationship on friendship, and not forced love. She didn't want to end up resenting him for something he had no control over. Ginny told her she was overthinking things, but for Hermione, these possibilities just kept plaguing her mind. They'd not even started looking for somewhere to live together! The flat above the Twins' store could do for now, but they needed more space if they were to raise a family of 'at least' four. Not to mention Fred and Angelina had to have just as many kids.

And once again, Hermione was thinking of the pregnancies. She understood that the magical people needed children in bucket-loads to replenish the population, but she couldn't help but think this was pushing it. 4 children per household was really a lot. In the Weasley family alone, this meant that Mrs Weasley would have 18 grandchildren. And while Hermione had no doubt that Mrs Weasley would be overjoyed, it was still a lot. They wouldn't be able to go to Sunday dinners at the Burrow anymore when all the children had come to; there would simply be too little space.  
>Not to mention when all the children would be going to Hogwarts! In eleven years time, the Hogwarts-staff would be severely overworked, what with all the children coming to get their education. Even if Hogwarts was as magical as it was, that would mean so many more children than just between 4 and 6 of each sex in every house. If the Ministry regulations were to be followed, then Hogwarts would have at least 5 Weasley-kids in the same year. And if the Weasley family-tradition was any indication, then the Gryffindor Head of House was in for the ride of his or her life. Weasley children )perhaps with the exception of Percy) apparently had a knack for getting into trouble; whether it was the prank-pulling kind Fred and George were up to, or the life-threatening kind Ron got himself into.<p>

The next unsuspected surprise for the Weasleys had come with the _Daily Prophet_, and envelopes with the Ministry seal on it, on a Sunday morning, as all the Weasley-children and their intended were gathered for breakfast at Mrs. Weasley's order.  
>"They're for you, Harry and Ginny, Bill and Fleur," Mr. Weasley said with a frown. Hermione saw Harry pull his fiancé closer, holding onto her, as if he was afraid the Ministry was going to take her away. Ginny clasped his hand as well, a frown evident on her face. A frown marred Fleur's beautiful face as well, as Bill accepted the letter from his bewildered father. With shaking hands, Ginny accepted the letter as well. Harry tucked her even closer as she opened the cream-coloured parchment.<p>

"I don't believe it!" Ginny shrieked when she finished reading. Harry's face was set in a grim mask. Immediately, Hermione worried that the Ministry had decided to split married – or at least engaged prior to the Marriage Law – couples, and she was already on her way over to her distraught friends. Harry passed her the letter, and she soon realized that she wasn't the only one with an expected pregnancy hanging over her head.  
>"Oh Gin, I'm so sorry; this completely ruins your plans" Harry groaned into her ear. Ginny let out a sniffle as Bill explained to the others what the letter were about.<br>"It seems that the Ministry isn't done screwing with people's lives. A new law was passed last night, apparently. A Children Law, so to speak. They've sent out these letters to all married and engaged couples, saying that not even they are free from the essence of the Marriage Law; we've gotten a number of children we're expected to have. Fleur and I, are to have at least 3." Mrs. Weasley was about to scold her son for his half-bad language, but instead she broke into tears.  
>"Oh Merlin!" She cried, hugging her son close.<br>Ginny had a steady stream of tears rolling down her cheeks, and Harry tried his very best to console her. Hermione only had an inkling as to what it was all about.  
>"Ginny, what is it?" Hermione worst fear for her friend were confirmed with Ginny's next sentence.<br>"Hermione, like you, I have to have a baby within the next two years. I've just gotten signed to the Harpies, but a pregnancy is going to ruin my career! When I'm pregnant, I won't be able to fly, and they'll have to release me from the contract!" Ginny was very passionate about her Quidditch-career. Even though she still had a year left of school, she was still signed for a contract with the Holy-Head Harpies. She had been approached by a manager, after a Quidditch-fundraiser the old Gryffindor Quidditch team had been to.  
>It was while Hermione had been in Australia; Oliver Wood, who was now playing full-time for Puddlemere United, had heard of this Fundraiser for the ruined St. Mungo's and Hogwarts, and had gathered the old team for a game. Unfortunately, Alicia Spinnet had been injured during the Final Battle and was still recovering, so Ginny had stepped up to play. (Of course, the Fundraiser had been very successful, as everybody wanted to see the world's most famous war-hero and conqueror of the Dark Lord, Harry Potter)<br>Harry had also been approached, but he thanked them no, as he was already very happy with where he was in the Auror apartment. Ginny had been so excited; it was one of the few things she had written to tell Hermione about while she was with her parents. Ginny had always wanted to play Quidditch, even if she did have a back-up plan as a Medi-witch at St. Mungo's. After all, Ginny _did _want children, and Quidditch wasn't a career you could keep your entire life; you simply became too old at some point.  
>"I'm so sorry, Ginny" Hermione told her. At least Hermione's job didn't depend on her like a Quidditch career would. In Hermione's position, she'd be able to work from home, and when the time came, that was what she intended to do.<p>

Ginny was understandably upset for the rest of the day. She had gone to write a letter to the Harpies, when a thought had struck Hermione.  
>"Ginny, you couldn't possibly be the only witch with that problem. Maybe they'll understand, and you won't lose your career at all!" Ginny had had a hopeful look on her face, and Hermione had felt immensely better at the thought that Ginny might still have a chance. Fred and George had decided to stay the rest of the day at the Burrow, so Hermione siezed her chance.<br>"George, could we take a walk?" She asked, as she came into the kitchen, where he and Fred were bent over some piece of parchment.  
>"Sure 'Mione, can I finish up here first though? Fred and I are just going over the stock and inventory, seeing what we'll have to restock a lot of, all that" Hermione smiled at him, and told him she'd wait outside.<br>It wasn't 30 minutes later, when George joined her in the Gardens behind the Burrow. He lead the way down a used path, the path that lead toward the small piece of land the Weasleys owned, where all the pick-up games of Quidditch were held.  
>"George, I've been thinking about something. You know as well as I do, that the flat above your store isn't going to be big enough for both our, and Fred and Angelina's families. We'll have to go looking for a house somewhere; somewhere we can start and raise a family" Even as she said this, Hermione cringed a bit. She didn't like the thought of being pregnant before she was 21. She hadn't planned on having a baby until she was at least 25. By the time she was, she'd probably have more than one child already.<br>George noticed her cringe, and froze. Did she really not want to start a family?  
>"Why'd you cringe?" His part harsh, part hurt tone startled her. Her wide eyes stared into his, as she tried to gauge why he was upset.<br>"Do you not _want_ to start a family with _me?_" The way he empathized the 'want' and 'me' in that sentence made Hermione flinch.  
>"Oh George, it's not that, it really isn't!" But George must have already made up his mind, and he stormed away, further up the path, leaving Hermione confused in the middle of the trail.<p>

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><p><strong>Uh-oh! <strong>

**Am I forgiven? ;)**

**Love, **

**MissH-95**


	10. Chapter 10

**I know! I know, and I'm sorry. -.- But thank you, for staying with me. You guys are the very best! I wanted to thank every single one who has ever read, reviewed, put me or my story on their favourite and alerts or pressed that 'follow' button :D It means so much to me, so, THANKS! :) **

**DISCLAIMER: Yeah right.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

Hermione Jean Granger wasn't very good with relationships. In fact, the only other relationship – even if hers with George _was_ Ministry-forced – she had ever had, had turned out very badly. She had never been good with working out what she had said or done wrong, because she was always straightforward, and appreciated honesty. Sometimes, honesty was just too blunt though, and had to be softened, an art Hermione had yet to learn.  
>This time though, Hermione knew exactly what had made George so upset. It was the same thing that had made her upset, the day they had gotten the letters. George thought Hermione didn't think he'd be a good father; that she didn't want to raise a family with him. The truth was she was scared. She had no doubt in his fathering abilities; he'd be brilliant – it was herself she was worried about.<p>

She wanted more life-experience and time to observe and learn, before she passed on her gene. She wanted to be the absolute best mother she could, and she was uncertain she was able to take on that responsibility at her current age. But she'd have to put those thoughts aside for later, because at the moment, she had to focus on her upset fiancé. She hurried along the track, and soon found him standing in the field the Weasley's used for Quidditch. She slowly walked up beside him. He didn't acknowledge her, other than stiffening. Hermione sighed; she had never meant to hurt him.  
>"I really didn't mean it like that," She started softly. He didn't even turn to look at her.<br>"What I meant, George, is that I'm not sure if I am ready to start a family yet. I want to make sure I am the best possible mother, and frankly, I think I am too young at the moment. I am terrified I'll be a horrific mother. George, I have no doubt you'll make a most wonderful Dad, in fact, I think our children will adore you. I've never been great with children. I'm scared I'll raise them all wrong, I'm afraid they'll hate me." She sunk to the forest-floor, folding her knees and tugging them up to her chin. She wrapped her arms around them, and let silent tears stream down her face. She'd never been so vulnerable in front of anyone; not even Harry and Ron.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, George sat down beside her, and wrapped an arm around her.  
>"Sorry I stormed off like that 'Mione. The truth is, I have much the same fears as you do, Hermione. I'm damaged goods; ever since I nearly lost Fred, and Percy, I've been a wreck. I'd hate to see how I would have been, if you hadn't been there, and I had survived. I'm afraid I could never be a good enough dad. You deserve better, you really do. You don't have anything to worry about, Angel, you'll be a terrific mother." He trailed off, and they sat there in silence for a while.<br>"Huh, look at that, we just had out very first spat!" George finally broke the silence. Hermione laughed and swatted his shoulder.  
>"Really now, Goofy!" George raised an eyebrow at that. Hermione blushed just slightly.<br>"What? It actually fits you! _I_ like it" she huffed. He just grinned, and pulled her into him, placing a kiss low on her forehead. Her breath caught in her throat at the feel of his warm lips against her brow.

He started to lie down, and pulled her with him. They watched the clouds float by in the sky, as they talked about anything and everything. They shared dreams and goals, fears and nightmares. George told her about how he frequently revisited that moment where he almost lost his twin. Though in his nightmares, the wall crushed them, and George held his lifeless twin, and screamed out, until he woke up. He told her about his schooldays, the many pranks he and Fred had pulled, along with Lee Jordan. He told her about how sometimes it hurt that their own mother couldn't tell them apart, but how amusing it really was. He told her of his childhood, how wonderful it had been with so many siblings, but also how it had been a struggle for approval and attention. Hermione told him the details of what really happened in Malfoy Manor, and when she had been caught by the Snatchers. She told him about those weeks in the tent, getting to know Harry and Ron, her surprise at how intelligent they really were, and all the adventures they had been on. She told him about growing up an only child, and how she had struggled to make friends in school, because she was so much smarter than everybody else, and on top of that, odd things always happened around her.

Eventually, they came back to the topic of finding a house to raise a family in.  
>"I don't want it to be too far from the shop, nor should it be too far from here. I know we can always apparate, or floo, but I like knowing I have my family near," George confessed.<br>"Also, I'd like to live near Fred. Angel, I can't stand being too far away from him, not after what happened at the Final Battle. I know he feels the same way" George looked at her with such a panic in his eyes, like she would tell him to get over it, and split him and his twin up.  
>"Goofy," she whispered softly, placing a hand on his cheek. He smiled equally softly at her, as she brought his gaze up to meet hers.<br>"I'd never dream of keeping the two of you apart. As long as we can live in two different houses, we could live on the same bloody piece of land!" He smiled at her. There was something in his gaze, and for one terrifying yet thrilling moment, Hermione thought he was about to kiss her. Oh how she wished he'd kissed her! Instead, he wrapped his arms around her in a tender embrace.

The days following their first disagreement, Hermione and George continued to grow even closer. Hermione found herself intrigued by George, so appropriately nicknamed 'Goofy' by her, and she wanted to know even the most insignificant details about him. She wouldn't call herself in love, at least not yet, but the possibility of her falling in love with him was there, and it was very likely.  
>When they couldn't talk face to face, mostly when George had to spend some time in Hogsmeade, to look into a possible expansion of his and Fred's shop, they would owl each other. At first, George had seemed a little puzzled, when the first owl from her arrived; delighted but puzzled. She had explained that she at least wanted to know how he preferred his breakfast before marrying him. She told him, that she wanted a friend she could spent the rest of her life with.<br>"My Mum used to say, that married couples are friends – best friends – first and foremost, before lovers," Hermione had said as a way of defending her actions. And as they both knew they would become lovers eventually because of that damn subsection of the Marriage law that stated that children were to have been produced within the specified timeframe – _as well_ as the subsection that said the Marriage would be invalid if it wasn't 'consummated' within twenty four hours of the wedding – they both decided they wanted to be friends first. Hermione hoped it would at least make it a little less awkward; she didn't particularly fancy bedding a relative stranger.

In the days that George was away, Hermione thought about the night of their almost-kiss. She was a little startled to realize just how badly she had wanted to kiss him. He had looked at her with those intense blue eyes of his, and Hermione had been helpless to the feeling that overwhelmed her. And now, her stupid brain was trying to analyse every aspect of that night. Sometimes she wished she could turn off her brain.

Mrs. Weasley proved to be an excellent distraction for her overly hyperactive brain. She was in a right state with all the weddings; ecstatic but stressed. Hermione had secretly been plotting with Ginny and Angelina to take the frantic woman to a muggle spa; they were sure she would enjoy it. Hermione had already taken the two once, and they'd absolutely loved it. Out of all the Weasley-women-to-be Hermione was closest with Angelina. She'd shared a dorm with Cho Chang for 7 – long – years and had hoped not to have to listen to her endless girly-girl talks. As fate would have it, she wasn't so lucky; she certainly wasn't envious of Ron for having found a match in her.  
>Lisa was still rather awkward with the whole thing and kept mostly to herself or near Charlie. She and Ron hadn't quite come to terms with everything yet, but Hermione hoped it wouldn't take long. Audrey was a very likable person, but she was very busy at St. Mungo's. Fleur was nearly only around for Sunday dinners, so Hermione wasn't very close with her. That left Angelina, Hermione and Ginny to become great friends – even with Ginny being two years younger than Hermione, and three years younger than Angelina, but Hermione supposed it didn't really matter. Maybe it would have, at some point, but war really made you grow up; age wasn't the problem.<p>

Hermione was freaking out slightly. She and George had yet to set a wedding date, and they were nearing the end of August. Of course, all the details were nearly worked out; this was Hermione Jean Granger, and Hermione Jean Granger was always, _always_ ahead of schedule. It wasn't as if George had had no say in the wedding whatsoever; she'd run everything by him first, and if he disagreed, then she'd find something else, or maybe compromise. Mrs. Weasley had been a huge help, and Hermione was sure she'd never have finished if it wasn't for her.

"We need to find a date for our wedding, Goofy," Hermione said quietly, as they once again lay quietly side by side in the Quidditch clearing. They were pointing out shapes in the clouds, and having a grand time. George could make the silliest thing appear, and Hermione found that there was never a dull moment when she was with him.  
>"Yeah, I guess so Angel. Maybe we should root for October. It's within the limit, and gives us a little more time," Hermione nodded, deep in thought.<br>He was right, of course. October seemed to be a good choice; they'd have to be married before the year was out, but they also knew that the more desperate people, who would like to get out of the law, would wait until the last moment possible. It made Hermione sad to think about how many people were suffering from this law.

It was like some sort of epiphany happened for her right there; she was extremely lucky. Not only had she been paired with someone from a good family, she'd also been paired with something she actually liked, and could see herself eventually fall in love with. Many others weren't so fortunate. Look at Cho and Ron; she nearly drove him nuts. Granted, it could be just the pre-wedding jitters that caused Cho to be – even more so than usual – irritating. Look at Charlie and Lisa; Charlie was marrying the girl Ron had been in love with for so long, and knew he was in the way. Lisa wasn't marrying the brother she wanted. She'd heard of so many cases where the couple was unhappy, and it made her really grateful to George.  
>"Angel?" his voice brought her from her thoughts. She smiled up at him gently, and turned so that she could put her head on his shoulder.<br>"October sounds good. I'm really lucky, you know," She whispered. His lips grazed her hair, and with a sigh, she closed her eyes and relaxed.  
>"Why're you lucky?" He murmured.<br>She didn't open her eyes as she answered: "I have you. I actually like you; I don't have to marry someone I can't stand. This law might be wrong and infuriating, but at least I get to marry you; I'm not suffering because of it. I'm so lucky." Finally she opened her eyes and looked up at him. His gaze was intense, and she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away.  
>"I feel lucky, too" his head lowered towards hers, and Hermione could feel her heartbeat frantically quicken. Her eyes stayed locked with his, until he was merely an inch away. Shutting her eyes, she closed the gap between them, and let out a tiny sigh as their lips finally met. All thoughts went out of Hermione's mind, and all she could concentrate on was the feel of his soft lips against hers. They kissed gently, but with passion. Her hands were gripping his shirt, and his were placed on her hips. One travelled up her back and made its way into her hair. She was halfway lying on top of him, but neither seemed to care much at the moment. George tentatively ran his tongue along her lower lip, and with another sigh, she allowed open her mouth, making the kiss all the more passionate. Hermione had never been kissed like this before, but she loved it. She wanted more of him. Before she knew it, her hands had travelled to his shoulders, where one stayed, while the other gripped the hair at the nape of his neck, playing with it.<br>George's hand started to rub circles on her hip and she let out a small moan. They soon pulled away for air, both panting heavily.  
>"October 10th sound okay to you?" Hermione asked breathlessly. George laughed and nodded, pulling her in for another kiss.<p>

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><p><strong>Yay, first kiss!<br>So now we have answers, we have a wedding date, and we have their first kiss... Maybe that will keep you happy 'til next time? ;)**

**Cheers! **


	11. Chapter 11

**I know, I know, and I'm sorry. I am not the most consistent updater, but I do hope you'll think this has been worth the wait :) **

**DISCLAIMER: I have never profitted from anything I have written - all rights go to Rowling; I'm just messin' around with her characters! :D**

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><p>Chapter 11<p>

Hermione Jean Granger had a difficult time concentrating. She was sat at her desk, leafing through the folder in front of her. She saw the words, but somehow they got all jumbled up and made no sense. She knew she was reading about Centaurs, but in all honesty, she had no idea what the folder said. Her mind kept drifting back to the kiss in the Quidditch clearing near the Burrow. They had stayed out there nearly until dinner, kissing and whispering soft words to each other. Hermione had never felt so close with anyone in her entire life. They had shared secrets, and Hermione had to admit that she had told him some things she hadn't even told Ron and Harry. Normally, Hermione would tell those two everything, but after the war they'd become rather protective of her; more so than they were in the heat of the battle. They sometimes worked extra hours if they got a lead on a wayward Death Eater, afraid that Hermione (or Ginny, or Luna, or Lisa) would be targeted – Hermione because she was a Muggle-Born, _and _because she was their best friend, the other girls because everybody knew they were close with them. For example, she hadn't told them that her new boss gave her the creeps. She hadn't worked there long – only a few months actually – and in the first few weeks, she had just been annoyed with his behaviour and manners. But as time wore on, she started to notice that he sometimes sent her lewd glances, and it made her uncomfortable. She knew that if she told Ron and Harry they'd be furious – probably start an investigation to see if others had complained and filed for sexual harassment and whatnot. And though George was not pleased – actually, Hermione would have sworn she heard him growl – he also knew that this was a battle she could fight on her own. Harry and Ron did too, but Hermione was still afraid they'd make something bigger out of it than it really was. They truly were the older brothers she'd never had – even though they were both younger than she was.  
>In the end, Hermione had enough and threw down the folder. <em>'Damn this marriage law, making me fall in love and not be able to concentrate'<em> her thoughts jumbled together, all trying to come forth to the front of her mind. She amused herself for a little while thinking of her thoughts as people standing in a line, waiting to get an autograph or something; pushing and pulling, creating a chaotic mess in her mind. Eventually she realised she could get no work done today, and so she packed up her things and went home with the excuse of having a headache, and forgotten to take any potions to relieve the tension with her.

When she finally got home, Hermione quickly pulled down her hair and changed into some more comfortable clothes than her smart dress-suit-ish robes. She sighed in relief and went to draw herself a bath. She needed to relax and think all of this through. Her wedding was soon after all, and she still needed to find a suitable living-place for her and George, that wasn't too far away from Fred.  
>As she slipped into the hot water with sigh, she thought further about living accommodations. She ran through areas near the Burrow that would be good to raise a family in; they would want to be close to the Burrow, but not too close, and they wanted to live near Fred and Angelina… Just then, an idea hit her. She grinned to herself as she got out of the tub and went to get dressed comfortably, in sweats and a big t-shirt – which she had nicked from George.<br>Going over to her fireplace, she stuck her head in and called for Angelina. The two had gotten closer, so the social-call wasn't that much of a surprise. When the older girl answered, Hermione asked her to come through; she had something she wanted to talk about.  
>"'Course, Hermione, I'll be right there." She said. Hermione went out into the kitchen to make tea as Angelina tumbled through the fireplace.<br>"Angelina, I've been thinking about living arrangements. We both know that neither Fred nor George is willing to be apart since what happened at the Final Battle. But I also know that the two of us would like some privacy to raise a family and such." Hermione paused, as Angelina nodded.  
>"Then I came up with the idea that maybe we could buy a piece of land with either a big house on, so that we'll each have a wing, or two smaller houses beside each other. That way they wouldn't be apart, and we'll have privacy as well." Hermione smiled as she finished speaking; she thought it was a rather great idea, if she did say so herself.<br>"Hermione, that's absolutely brilliant. I think we should go for two houses; but maybe build a small lab for them to experiment in. Then our houses won't be destroyed if anything goes wrong. Merlin knows Fred tells me about some of their mishaps; I won't have it happen in my house I tell you." Angelina said, and Hermione couldn't help but grin. As much as both the women hated this law, it was incredible how Angelina sounded so much like a housewife already. They chatted a bit about where to live and how to protect it and such, before decided they would go looking for houses the next day. They also agreed not to tell Fred and George just yet.  
>"What a brilliant surprise it will be fore them!" Angelina said, and Hermione couldn't help but agree.<br>Angelina and Fred were going to be married at the 27th of September as it was well within the first term of Hogwarts, and Fred and George needed a little time to stock up on everything again, as the summer-holiday madness had emptied their storages quite a bit already. The left Hermione and Angelina precisely 31 days to find somewhere they could live, that they both liked and though could work out. So early morning of the 27th of August, Hermione and Angelina sat down to make a plan; lists of what had to be in the houses, where they wanted it to be, how remote, how much space, their budget – everything they could think of when faced with buying such a specific place.  
>"There must be space for a Quidditch field Hermione. I know you're not happy about brooms, but Fred, George and I all love it, and I'm sure neither of them will allow their kids not to love Quidditch." Angelina said, and Hermione was inclined to agree. She had heard the Weasley boys – and Ginny and Harry of course – rave on and on about Quidditch for hours, and she was quite sure that any kid of George Weasley was likely to be able to fly before he or she could walk.<p>

With plans in hand the two sisters-in-law went in search of a wizarding real-estate agent. They explained their situation to the helpful witch that would be their realtor. The witch – Alexandria Channel – was more than understanding of it; her baby-sisters had been almost inseparable after the war. They explained what they wanted; two houses on the same land, preferably right next to each other, with enough space for the kids to fly around and play, but not very far from the Burrow or civilisation. They wanted people to be able to come over, but not unannounced so to say.

They spent most of the day looking at places, Alexandria giving them every detail of the houses they went through. As both Angelina and Hermione knew they would have to get Fred and George to agree to the places too, they wrote down the addresses and details of the places they liked, to come back and look at it again with them later.  
>The last place they went to though seemed to trump them all. Hermione looked at Angelina and found her looking back at her. Both their eyes were wide, and they seemed to have the same thought: <em>'This is the place'<em>.

In between hills, a fairly large ground stretched out. It was remote, Muggles wouldn't easily come by it, but it was still close to the little village, Ottery St. Catchpole, and the Burrow. There were two small houses build down there, on the outskirts of the land, front porches facing the grounds. It wasn't so big it would become hard to manage with everyone working full-time jobs, but it was large enough that 8 kids could run around, growing up playing Quidditch and all sorts of other games. There was a small pond not unlike the one at the Burrow, and in between the two houses there was a shed of some sort.  
>"This was owned by an elderly couple. They got sick though, so their son and his wife came to look after them, but then wanted their own space. So they build the second house, a replica of the original, and moved in. When the elderly couple died, the son didn't want to stay anymore, too many memories I think, and so they moved out again." Alexandria explained. Hermione nodded, writing the things down Alexandria said, as Angelina asked questions.<br>They went inside to see the houses, and Hermione and Angelina immediately fell in love with them. They were both two stories high; the ground floor held a combined kitchen/dining room; taking after the muggle version of an isle in the middle so that the kitchen was open, a living room, a laundry room, the master bedroom and master bathroom. Both houses had a front and back porch. When you went inside from the front, you entered a small entry-hall. Right ahead there was the staircase to the upper floor, and through a door on the right, you entered the master bedroom. Another door on the right led to the master bathroom, which was also joined to the bedroom. An archway to the left led one into the living room. Big windows overviewed the yard and a fireplace was positioned directly across the archway. To Hermione's delight, there was a grand piano located to the left of the arch when you entered; she's always loved to play when she was home on vacation, and when she wasn't off to Hogwarts yet. The piano seemed to create a form of wall, and as such the couches and coffee table seemed to be settled in a little nook of the room. The walls were a light sandy colour, warm and inviting, and the floors were wood. In front of the fireplace there was a patch of marble flooring, probably to save the wood from soot and ash when flooing. At the left wall there were bookcases that Hermione could just see herself filling with all her books, and knick-knacks and pictures. To the right of the cases, a door led through to a laundry room. To the left, another archway led to the combined kitchen/dining room. The kitchen part of the room had a tiled floor, while the dining room part again was wood. The place was quite empty, most of the furniture having been moved out, but Hermione could see the possibilities. She turned to Angelina before they were even on the second floor: "Angelina, if we end up buying this place, I would very much like this house." She said. Angelina smiled at her and nodded.  
>"That would be fine. I can't see myself or Fred at the grand piano anyway." She winked at the younger woman and they laughed as they moved up stairs. The second floor had 5 rooms and a bathroom. The wheels in Hermione's head were already spinning; they had to have four kids, which would mean that she could turn one of the rooms into a study, and each of their kids would still be able to have their own room. The rooms were larger than what hers had been when she lived with her parents, but she could easily see them all becoming very cosy and habitable for excitable kids.<p>

They viewed the other house as well, which was very much identical to the first, except that everything was backwards – the master bedroom and bathroom were to the left – and the living room didn't have a grand piano.  
>"We'll very much like to come back and look at this house again; maybe in a week? Fred and George have much to do now, with it being the last few days before term and all." Hermione said. Alexandria nodded, very happy with today's goings.<br>"That's great; I've been having trouble selling this place because of the second house, but you're just perfect for this place." She said as they made their way back toward her office.

When they got home, Hermione and Angelina were both tired, but happy with the events of the day.  
>"I say we just throw the notes from the other houses away, and take the Twins to look at that last place. It was gorgeous; perfect for what we need, and it even lines up with everything on the lists we made!" Angelina said, and Hermione agreed, though she wasn't about to throw the notes out; what if the Twins didn't like the place? Highly unlikely, but still…<p>

Hermione was freaking out. She wanted to take the Twins out to see the houses as quickly as possible, because Fred and Angelina's wedding was drawing closer and closer, and they still hadn't finished the deal. But they were just so busy; all of them, that Angelina and Hermione were still keeping it a secret. To top it all off, Hermione's boss was being an ass and she felt like she was going to explode. So when George came to visit her apartment one Thursday evening, she was just about to blow up.  
>She threw open the door, hair standing every which way with a murderous look in her eyes, until she saw George standing there with an innocent smile, a bottle of wine and a bouquet of flowers. Her expression softened, and she invited her future husband inside.<br>"You look tense, Angel," He commented after he had greeted her with a gentle kiss. She sighed, eyes closed as she leaned against his shoulder. They had become a lot more intimate after their first kiss; they didn't shy away from affection, and often hugged.  
>"It's been a stressful week. By Merlin, my boss is driving me absolutely crazy! He keeps asking after reports I gave him a week ago! Honestly! Either that man is not fit for being Head of the Department, or he's just an imbecile jerk!" She concluded, working herself into a rage again. George led her to her couch, gently pushing her down onto it, while making reassuring noises in her ear.<br>"Relax, Angel. Sit down, close your eyes. I'll pour some wine," he got up and entered her kitchen. He was still not very used to where everything was, not being over all that often. But he managed to find to wine glasses.  
>Hermione revelled in the bitter-sweet taste of the wine as she relaxed further into the couch.<br>"I mean, not only is he asking for reports I've already given him; it's like he purposely gives me more work than I can possibly manage in my office-hours so that I have to stay late! I've worked late four days this week, four! _And_ the work he's giving me, he's already given me once. I mean, does the man have no sense of organisation in his office!" She was ranting and she knew it, but she couldn't help it.  
>"Have you considered telling him that you don't appreciate being loaded down with work?" George asked her. She glared at him.<br>"Honestly George, I'm not looking for a solution right now. I've already told him this, _twice_, but that man's selectively deaf! I just need to rant right now!" What was it with men, and always coming with solutions for everything? Honestly!  
>"Woah, slow down! Don't bite my head off!" He said with an impish grin. Hermione sighed, aware that she was being unfair.<br>"I'm sorry Goofy, it's just been a stressful week, that's all." He just smiled at her.  
>"You sound tense. Lay down, I'll give you a massage," Hermione was about to ask him how one 'sounds tense' but decided she didn't much care at the moment. Instead she lay down as he asked, and let his fingers do the magic. She groaned as she felt that he was right; all the work this week had really made her tense.<br>"This is really good, George, thank you," She whispered. She hadn't felt so relaxed in forever.  
>"Don't worry about it, Angel," He told her softly. Hermione sat up when he finished working wonders for her muscles, and leaned into him. She softly told him about her work, and even if she felt that she could make a difference there, it was taking too long for her liking.<br>"Angel, you haven't even been there a month! He shouldn't be loading you down like this. I know you're very much capable of all this, but this is ridiculous!" He told her. She sighed.  
>"I know George, but it's this damn law! There's so many in my department that's getting married and taking time off for honeymoons, and wedding preparations and what do I know! It is very frustrating," her hand instinctively found her temple and started massaging it. George took her hand, and gently held it with his. Hermione sighed again, and breathed in the smell of him; so comforting and nice.<br>"George, would you like to sleep over? I mean it's late and," She trailed off, slightly horrified that she had asked him that. She could feel him stiffen beside her and sighed; he probably didn't want to.  
>"That'd be great, Angelina's visiting Fred, and I don't want to be there for that!" He grinned as Hermione grimaced. She was relieved that he hadn't just told her 'no', though.<br>"Okay then. Would you like to go and get some of your stuff? Like an overnight bag or something?" George nodded and told her he'd be back in half an hour tops.  
>He had just left, when she started freaking out.<p>

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><p><strong>You like? Personally, I'd like a place like that :D <strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**Happy holidays people! Or Merry Christmas, if you prefer ;) I know I've not exactly been a good updater on this, and I apologize! But this chapter is about nine pages, people, and it's taken me pretty much all day to perfect it! I really hope you like it! ;)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 12<strong>

Hermione Jean Granger woke feeling warmer and more comfortable than she had in a long time. She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to be awake quite yet. She snuggled deeper into her pillow, and wrinkled her nose when it was harder than it usually was. She attempted to fluff it, but it wouldn't budge. It was weird, her pillows always budged! And speaking of weird pillows, why was this one chuckling?

She stiffened when she finally realized what was going on. When George had gotten back, she had been a nervous wreck. Not at all capable of falling asleep. She had never ever had a sleepover with a boy before. She only calmed down when he pulled her into a hug and told her it would be alright. They sat talking on her couch in their jammies for a long time, well into the night. George must have carried her to bed, because she didn't remember walking in here herself. But why had he stayed?  
>"You asked me to, Angel" he said softly. She relaxed at the sound of his sleep-husky voice. It was comforting, and she didn't want to move at all. The t-shirt he was wearing was soft against her cheek, and the hand that combed through her hair was nice. So she snuggled closer.<br>"Aren't you hungry, Angel?" He asked her, and as if on cue, her stomach growled. He chuckled again and it vibrated through her chest.  
>They got out of the bed, and Hermione was amazed at how not-awkward she felt around him after her mini breakdown the night before. Hermione laughed at his jokes as they moved around her kitchen together, cooking their breakfast. It felt natural, and it scared Hermione a little.<br>When they had finished eating breakfast, Hermione decided, that she just couldn't _not_ show Fred and George the place she and Angelina had found any more. So she told George she was going to call her boss and take the day off, and instructed him to take a shower. He did as she asked, and Hermione made quick work of letting her boss know she wasn't coming to work today; she told the secretary to tell him, and then she called Angelina. She knew she was at Fred and George's apartment, and she prayed that it would be Angelina that found her first.  
>"Angelina!" she yelled when she got through. It was a minute before a dishevelled-looking Angelina appeared. She smiled when she saw Hermione and they agreed today should be the day.<p>

As Angelina got ready, Hermione retreated back to her own place to dress. George came out of the shower, his red hair dark as it clung to his skin. Hermione liked it.  
>"George, I have something I want to show you," she told him, her confidence having returned. When he looked puzzled, she took his hand and led him outside the wards. After the war, Hermione had decided she just couldn't be careful enough. Anti-apparation wards, both for incoming and outgoing apparation, had been set up, along with anti-animagus wards around her place (you could transform once inside the wards, but a transformed animagus could not pass). Anti-portkey from outside along with countless other safety-measures had been set up. She hated not feeling able to protect herself, so this was the best she could come up with. She had never been very good in an outright duel, though she could hold her own. She was nothing compared to Ron and Harry anyway.<p>

Hermione apparated George to just outside of the premises, where she distracted him for a few minutes – if you get a small one like that – until Fred and Angelina showed up. The two girls exchanged amused and secretive glances as the Twins started questioning each other – or rather, the situation – in the Twin-speak.  
>"Alright, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum," Hermione started, "We have something to show you, so please follow," she gestured with her hand the way in which they were going, and took Angelina's hand. As if the older girl new what she was thinking, she squeezed Hermione's hand.<br>"They'll love it, you'll see," Hermione sincerely hoped so. She loved the small houses and it was perfect for them. Close enough that they could always reach each other, no matter what, but separate enough that it wouldn't feel cramped. As they passed the hilltop and looked down at the grounds, Fred and George stopped short. Hermione knew with one glance at George that he had figured out what was going on, and if she knew him well enough, so had Fred.  
>"This is for us?" They whispered at the same time. Hermione nodded with a huge smile on her face. If George's expression was anything to go by, he was just as in love with the houses as she was.<br>"It's perfect," Fred said. And even if they hadn't seen the insides yet, Hermione just knew that Fred and George would want to get the place as well.

Angelina and Hermione took Fred and George into each of the houses, showing them everything. But as it was almost identical, they quickly figured out that the way Hermione and Angelina had planned, would be the way to go.

Hermione was standing in the living room, looking at the room with a small smile on her face. She could almost see herself with a little redheaded daughter at the piano-bench, teaching her how to play. Or sitting on the couch with her favourite book, looking out through the window and watching George teach a little redheaded boy how to handle a broom. Her, amusedly yelling from the kitchen for the children not to run down the stairs, as she calls for supper.  
>She felt a pair of arms around her waist, as George hugged her from behind.<br>"I think this will be a perfect place to raise a family," he whispered in her ear. She smiled and nodded, looking at the fireplace and imagining Harry and Ginny arrive through with a little black-haired child for a play-date.  
>"Yes. I just hope it will be possible," she said, thinking it would probably be somewhat of a long process, though it would be worth it.<p>

She was right – the next day they visited both Alexandria and Gringotts, to see if it was possible to invest in the housing arrangement – not everybody could be as rich as Harry, and buy the houses in the first go. Though it would be tough for a while, the investment came at a good time; after the war, everything was a little cheaper, inclusive the houses. And with Fred and George's blooming business, and Angelina and Hermione both working, they would be able to overcome it.

It would be a little week before they would be able to take over the land, and Hermione had never been more excited. She was already packing up everything; her books (by subject, of course), her clothes, her knick-knacks and pictures. She was already making arrangements with the landlord about her lease and changing her address in her papers at work. George was over a lot, helping her pack her bookcases and discussing decoration plans with her – when he wasn't at his and Fred's apartment packing his own things, of course. It was slightly less daunting than the wedding preparations, although they were nearly finished with that. They had decided that while it was a wizarding house, they wouldn't keep muggle things out of it. Hermione wanted her parents to come visit, and while she was a witch, her parents had never really been able to understand magic fully. She didn't want to frighten them with too many magic things. A mixture would also ease her a bit, as she felt she was denying her muggle heritage. She didn't want to do that, so a compromise would do her good.

Finally, in Hermione's mind, Friday the 11th September came, and they were able to move into their new home. They gathered all the Weasleys and their future spouses to help out with the move, as there were four of them moving, not just two. Even Cho had decided to offer her royal presence and help out. They split up – half helping Fred and Angelina, and the other half helping George and Hermione. They had showed their new home to the rest of the family the day before, and everybody had found it a charming little place. Bill had stated that as soon as they were settled, he'd helped them set up wards to cover the area. It might be newly found peaceful times, but the fear and uncertainty still lured with its ugly presence over the wizarding world, and the four new residents of the grounds appreciated the offer. Molly had already demanded command of the kitchen in Hermione and George's new home, and would be helping out there – cooking up snacks and making refreshments. Harry and Ron and insisted on helping out Hermione, and she was glad for their presence. With this new law, they hadn't been able to hang out nearly enough. They met for lunches whenever they could in the newly set up cafeteria in the ministry, but it wasn't good enough. Hermione enjoyed their carefree laughter and jokes as they helped her with the very last things in her apartment. She had really missed their presence. Sometimes she found herself thinking of the time in the tent, when it had just been the three of them, and they had forgotten about the war raging outside. She missed the simplicity of that, even if they had been on their lookout at all times.

They had been quite sneaky with their preparations for the move. While Hermione lived on the outskirts of Wizarding London, she did look close enough to the muggles, that it would threaten the Statue of Secrecy if they had moved everything without anyone seeing them actually doing any moving. So they had rented a moving-truck and would be moving everything in there, shrink the heavy stuff, and apparate with it to the new house. Then, when the truck was "loaded" – meaning when everything had already been moved to the house – they would simply return the truck. Harry – always having been nifty with illusion-charms – would glamour the truck up to make it appear full to anyone curious enough to actually look inside. And so they set to work. Hermione hadn't actually lived in the apartment long enough to form a real attachment to the place, what with being on the run and fighting in a war and all, but she was still a little sad to be leaving. The thought of marriage, specifically hers, so soon still scared the living daylights out of her. But this was a step in the right direction at least. And the more time she spent with George, the more she felt like she was falling in love with, and the prospect of marrying him turned a little less scary.

While Harry and Ron were doing the heavy lifting – under much complaint from Ron – Ginny helped Hermione carry her boxes of books and trinkets down. Ginny was telling her about her contract with the Harpies. As it turned out, Ginny hadn't been the only one with that problem. They'd been able to make a clause in the contract that stated that Ginny would be able to have a period of absence while she was pregnant and when the baby was still very young. Apparently, the Harpies had taken it to the Ministry and the Department of Magical Games and Sports because they were an all-women's team and therefore they wanted something to compensate for that. The new Department Head – Ludo Bagman had been replaced after the Tri Wizard Tournament, when his gambling addiction had been made known – was a Muggleborn, and thus she knew about the Muggles mode of securing their jobs when they're pregnant. Sandra Hudson – the new Head – could well understand the frustration as she, too, was a Quidditch nut, and so she proposed a Pregnancy-act underneath the subsection of the Children Act that provided the mothers-to-be with the opportunity of maternity-leave. Right now it was only the female sport players that were subjected to this act, but Sandra – whom Hermione had spoken with a few times – along with Kingsley, Harry, Ron and Arthur were trying to get it to become a permanent feature of Wizarding Law.

Hermione thought it was a wonder that the wizarding world had been able to function when there wasn't anything called maternity leave. If every single woman who became pregnant had to leave their jobs, how did most families make their economy go around? Granted many witches opted to stay at home to teach their kids to read, write, and train them in all the core subjects, wizarding culture plus whatever that particular family taught their kids. Harry, for example, would probably need to teach his kids how to manage property and finances, as the Potters were an Ancient and Noble family, as were the Blacks, and Harry had inherited the title the Black-family carried, along with all the possessions, monetary assets and properties. Frankly, right now Harry was probably one of the richest men in wizarding Britain. Hermione couldn't be sure though, as Harry never, _ever_ talked about his money.

They were inside the truck, shrinking down boxes and putting them into a bag so they could apparate with all at once.  
>"I think it's great they've been able to make a subsection about maternity leave in the Children's Act. It'd be even more brilliant if they could fit it into the both the Marriage Law <em>and <em>Wizarding Law in general as well," Hermione commented when Ginny finished. Ginny was all smiles. She had been so worried that she would lose her career, even though she was so young. Right now, she was at Hogwarts, but Professor McGonagall had given her permission to leave for the weekend. As Ginny were taking her N.E. she had fewer classes than normally. She had chosen to drop History (even with the new professor, appointed by McGonagall), Astronomy and Care of Magical Creatures in her sixth year, and saw no point in taking them up again in her Seventh. Though she still had Runes and the four core-subjects and now also Healing with Madame Pomfrey, there was still a lot of spare time. With the Marriage Law going on, McGonagall had excused those affected when they were needed elsewhere. As Harry and Ginny were searching for houses and also planning a wedding, she had been allowed off the grounds with a special pass.  
>"Yeah I know, I can't believe how lucky I am. It's not like I don't <em>want<em> kids with Harry, because I do, but I'd like it to be on my own terms, you know? Now that I can't have that, I'm just glad I can at least keep my career," Ginny told her with a smile.  
>"I understand perfectly what you mean. I feel exactly the same way; I <em>never<em> figured I would be having kids before the age of 21, but here we are! I'm just glad we found this place to raise our kids," Hermione smiled a warm little smile as she thought of her future kids. It felt nice to say '_our'_ kids out loud. It made it more real, somehow. She wasn't sure if she was ready, but she remembered her talk with George. As long as she would be raising the children with him, she was sure they would figure it out.  
>"I think your new house is going to be perfect for you. It's so great of you and Angelina to understand the Twin's needs with this. They've never been apart for long, and that incident at the Final Battle really did a number on them. Imagine if George or Fred had to marry Cho – like her royal Highness would have understood!" Hermione couldn't contain her chuckles. She sounded a little like she was choking as she tried to stop them from coming out. Finally, she couldn't hold it back anymore. She started laughing – <em>hard<em>. Cho had been very _difficult_ lately, even after the whole 'pregnancy that was going to ruin her figure'-thing. Ron was trying his very best with her, but he was still very confused about everything. Cho didn't make it any complained about their wedding-date (even if she was the one who determined it), she complained about the decorations (even if she had helped picking them out), she complained about Ron's job (even if she gossiped to anyone who would listen that she was marrying a war-hero). She was becoming unbearable – which was why she had been sent to help Mrs. Weasley with the food, although _she_ was also on the brink. They all hoped Cho would settle down after the wedding and become a little less, well, irritating, at least for Ron's sake.  
>"But really, I think the place is perfect. It's so <em>you<em> too, you know? By the way, did I tell you that Harry and I found a place to live?" Hermione smiled at Ginny when she told her that her new home was perfect, but when the last part of the sentence came out, her eyes turned big.  
>"Really? When? Where?" Ginny grinned at her as she shrank the last few boxes.<br>"Actually, we found the deed in Harry's family vault. He had no idea he had the vault until he visited Gringotts the other week. His account-manager – I know, crazy, right? – found him and asked him if he wanted to claim the Headship of the family, since he had been on the run since his birthday, and hadn't gotten it. Talk about a huge shock!" Ginny took a small break and explained further. Turns out that the vault he had been using was just an educational vault for his tuition, books, and so on, as well as some pocket-money for himself.  
>"Anyway, we found the deed in his family-vault and went looking at all of the properties in the country, both from the Black and the Potter family. Godric's Hollow is out – the home is both destroyed, and Harry didn't want to be reminded of what he lost every day. But that didn't matter, because we also found the Potter ancestral home. We thought it was going to be a huge mansion or something like that, but while it is big, it's certainly not pretentious. We found portraits of is forefathers and everything! Harry's so happy and it's actually quite cosy. We'll invite you there soon, and you can see it. It has a massive library, too," Ginny winked at her with that last comment. The two women continued chatting after they had brought the bags with boxes to her new home. Hermione thought it would be very good for Harry to live where his father probably grew up. From the portraits he'd probably be able to learn a lot about both his family, but especially his father.<p>

Ginny and Hermione decided to have lunch in the little garden out back. They sat in the shade of a tree eating sandwiches while Ginny told her all about the new house and their find of it.  
>"Harry was so sweet. When we were standing and looking at what we think might have been his father's bedroom, he asked me if I was sad about the way he proposed. Of course I told him no. I've never needed the whole romantic thing, and besides, he romances me all the time; bringing me flowers and telling me I'm his whole world – he's so good to me," she gave a little sigh with a smile on her face as she got out on that side-track, and Hermione smiled. She knew Ginny was very happy with Harry, and she was happy for her.<br>"Anyway, he told me why he did it like he did. He said he never wanted to be without me, and that he couldn't wait anymore. He told me that I was the most beautiful woman in the world to him, and that the war had made him realise just how precious life is, and that's why he had proposed like he did. He said he felt like he hadn't given me a 'proper' proposal because he hadn't told me how much it would mean to him for me to spend the rest of my life with him. Silly man," she chuckled lovingly.  
>"That's so Harry," Hermione joined in on the chuckling, but inside, her heart was torn in two. One part – the largest – was so very happy for both Ginny and Harry, but the other wondered at what might have been without the law. Would she have met a romantic man like Harry? Or would she have ended up with a more emotionally clumsy man like Ron? She looked over at her new house and saw that George had just arrived; juggling what appeared to be a shrunken bed, bookcase and trunk. She smiled at his silly display and realised he was exactly what she needed, especially after the war. He made her smile and laugh, but he was also caring and aware of her needs. If she was sad, he would comfort her, if she was mad at her boss, he would let her rant. He healed her in a way she didn't believe anybody else could. He was good to her, <em>for<em> her, and that was all she really needed.  
>As she looked at him, she realised that she wasn't really that scared anymore. She would marry this guy, and it actually made her happy. It hadn't taken long at all, but she was falling for this man, and she was falling hard. With a quick look at Ginny, she excused herself. She giggled as she ran to her future husband, not at all caring what it looked like. When she reached him, she jumped into his arms, and caught by surprise, his arms automatically wrapped around her to catch whatever had slammed into him. Her legs settled around his waist as she grabbed a hold of his shoulders, not caring about the <em>thump, thump, thump,<em> of the three items George had dropped when he caught her.  
>"Hi Goofy," she whispered before lowering her lips to his. She smiled into the kiss as she felt his hesitancy, clearly still surprised. She pulled away and slid down his body and hugged him.<br>"Not that I'm complaining, Angel, but what has gotten into you?" he asked in wonder. She giggled that giggle that she didn't mind so much anymore, because only George could bring that out in her, and shrugged.  
>"I just realised how happy I am with you. You make me happy, George Weasley," she whispered and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him again. She felt him smile this time, as he wrapped his arms around her waist to bring her closer.<br>"As do you me, Hermione Granger-soon-to-be-Weasley"

When Hermione joined Ginny underneath the tree again, she could see the smirk on the younger girl's lips. Pretending not to notice, she instead asked if she had ever told Ginny about her first date with George.  
>"How could I have forgotten?" she asked with horror, and Hermione laughed before launching into the tale. She was in a very good mood right now.<p>

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><p><strong>Well, I hope this was long enough to make up for my terribly lousy update-speed. Truth is, most of the other chapters I had already written, but we've reached the point where everything I've edited and written already has been updated, and I need to write the new chapters from update to update, which admittedly takes a rather long time.. Hope you can forgive me. Also, I hope you guys appreciate this little piece of fluff. <strong>

**Next chapter: Hermione has a talk with Ron, along with more moving ;)**

**Cheers! (And once again, Merry Christmas!) **


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